Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies
by KevinVoigt
Summary: [COMPLETED] In Harry's sixth year, everyone struggles to understand the war that is beginning. Voldemort is planning something, but even the Order cannot discover what it is. The only chance Harry has of understanding it may be his growing connection to
1. The Astronomy Tower

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 1 - The Astronomy Tower**

* * *

For early summer, the wind was surprisingly cold and biting. Harry shivered as he pulled his robes tighter around himself. He couldn't remember pulling them from his trunk that morning, but there were many things about this day that he couldn't remember.

He might have been more concerned if he hadn't immediately recognized his surroundings. He was atop the Hogwarts astronomy tower. He'd found himself on the tower surrounded by a crowd. He didn't think he recognized any of them, and for the first time, he didn't seem to be recognized either.

He didn't remember why he was there, or how he'd gotten there, but no one else seemed concerned about these things. Weaving between the clumps of people chatting and drinking tea, he looked for the door leading down into the tower.

It took only a minute to squeeze between the dense grouping of people around the door. Harry grabbed the door and pulled, but it was held fast. He pulled harder, but it refused to even acknowledge his efforts with a groan of stressed wood or rattling of hinges.

"Any luck there, my boy?" asked a voice from behind him. Harry turned, surprised that someone had finally noticed him. It quickly melted into disappointment as he saw who had called to him.

"I was just about to try that very thing," announced a rather cheerful Gilderoy Lockhart. "Perhaps we should look for a window."

"We're on a tower. There aren't any windows," Harry replied dryly.

"Oh! So we are." Lockhart scanned the tower, then turned back to Harry.

"It did seem a bit breezy around here. I was actually getting just a bit cold standing about like this. Why don't you be helpful and check that door behind you?"

"He's been checking that door every five minutes," announced a second voice.

Harry turned to see Remus Lupin walking up beside him. "Hello Gilderoy, I hear there is a ladder down over there." Lupin pointed toward the far side of the tower. Lockhart smiled and thanked him, then headed off toward the direction Lupin had pointed.

"How did I get here?" Harry asked Lupin when Lockhart had left.

Lupin stared back at him with a bewildered frown. "This is where you are Harry. You're here because you haven't left." Lupin turned away and walked back toward the edge, as though he'd more than answered Harry's question.

Harry tried to follow him, but either the crowd was growing or they were swarming around him without actually paying any attention to him. As he walked after Lupin, Harry began to recognize a number of people in the crowd. He saw Luna Lovegood's father, Ludo Bagman, and Madam Hooch. There didn't seem to be any order or reason for all of them to be there at once.

Harry caught up to Lupin at the low wall which ran along the outer edge of the tower. Lupin was calmly looking out across the landscape.

"How did we get here?" Harry asked, "Why are we all here?"

"We're here because you are, Harry. We're all together," Lupin responded as if it were the plainest thing in the world.

"Who put us here?" Harry finally asked. Lupin smiled back at him like he'd just asked his own name.

"You did."

Harry felt a bizarre dizziness, like the world had shivered around him. What's happening, he wondered. Something wasn't right. Something was deeply wrong. Harry stepped away from the wall, and started scanning the faces of the people around him, looking for anyone else to talk to. Suddenly he found a face he recognized, and a chill ran down his spine.

Staring at him from across the tower was Cedric Diggory.

Harry froze in place, staring at Cedric, who was alive and staring back at him. It can't be, he assured himself. Cedric died. He forced himself to blink, but when his eyes opened, Cedric was still there, speaking to an older wizard, but looking at Harry. The conversation seemed to pause and Cedric nodded toward Harry. The older wizard turned to look toward him.

His throat tightened and his jaw clenched as Barty Crouch, Sr. turned to smile and nod at him. Harry turned away to glare at Lupin, who was still standing by the wall.

"Where is he?" Harry demanded.

"Where is who, Harry?" Lupin asked while fighting back a smile.

"Where is SIRIUS?" Harry shouted. A short laugh finally escaped Lupin's mouth and his eyes slid to look over Harry's shoulder. Harry whirled around to find himself face to face with his Godfather, Sirius Black.

"Hello, Harry!" Sirius greeted him warmly. He reached out to grab Harry firmly on the shoulder. "I knew you'd find me. I could never hide from your father, either." Sirius gave him a warm smile, but it faltered when Harry didn't respond. "What's wrong, Harry?"

"You're dead." Harry said.

"Really?" Sirius replied with a surprised smile. He laughed as he patted Harry's shoulder a few times. "It must agree with me. I rather expected to be a bit more... stiff, you know?"

"I saw you die," Harry persisted. "And Cedric, and I saw Crouch's body."

"Come now, Harry. You're more clever than that," Sirius said in a quieter voice. "Do you believe everything you see?"

"Where is the veil?"

"What are you talking about? What veil do—"

"WHERE IS IT?" Harry yelled to Sirius' face. "The veil? From the Department of Mysteries? It's here, I know it is, it's always here."

Harry's head swung from side to side as he searched the top of the tower for the gently billowing veil which had been haunting his dreams. They all ended the same way. He'd end up in the circular room of open doors, each leading to some horrible experience from his memories. Each time he picked the same door, and get to briefly see Sirius fighting bravely before falling though the veil. They might start out differently, but the ending was always the same.

As Harry searched, his mind struck upon something different, something new. It was simply a feeling or impression of something foreign yet more real than anything else there. This dream was different than the others. There was something important that he was missing. He searched the faces around him again.

His eyes locked on a tall dark haired wizard and a slightly shorter witch with long red hair. As soon as Harry saw them he knew who they were, and he started walking toward them. They were just as he'd seen them in the Mirror of Erised, and just like in the Mirror, they turned to look at him. Their expressions were not the ones of love and pride he'd seen in the Mirror, but of desperation and worry.

Something was different. Something was wrong. Harry recognized the feeling. One he felt before. It was danger.

Harry whirled to face Sirius again and found him laughing with Lupin as they leaned against the low wall. Harry recognized the first tremor as if he'd expected it from the moment he first realized where he was. It was inevitable yet he had done nothing to stop it.

Instinctively, Harry dove for Sirius, but the wall had already fractured and was falling away with most of the rock under Sirius' feet. Harry watched as his hand gripped a stone ledge for a brief second before slipping and falling from view.

Harry ran for the hole, but Lupin stopped him and held him back. Sirius was gone. He died just like he always did. As Harry tried to look down the side of the tower, he felt a second, stronger shake, followed by more crumbling and a few sharp screams.

When he turned to look in the direction of the screaming, there was nothing more than a cloud of dust. Before he knew what he was doing, he had wrenched himself free of Lupin's grasp and was frantically pushing people away from the low wall along the edge of the tower. Lupin had started doing the same thing nearby, but without Harry's urgency.

The people around him mostly seemed annoyed with Harry, some of them even shoving back. Harry tried to ignore them, but the more he tried to push them from the edge, the more they fought back.

"Are you mental?" one wizard shouted at him. "I was trying to enjoy the view!"

"You were going to die," Harry growled back, only to have the wizard draw his wand.

"Get away from me," he said angrily. "I won't have you threaten me and my family!"

With a scowl, Harry turned and walked to Lupin, who was smiling and talking to a pair of old witches as they walked away from the edge. Harry grabbed his shoulder and pulled him. Lupin looked quite annoyed.

"Yes, Harry, what is it?" Lupin asked.

"What's happening? What's doing this?" he asked quickly.

"Oh, you mean the shaking?" Lupin asked lightly. "It's nothing. Probably just the wind or falling trees or some troll who thinks the tower stole its favorite rock."

"It could be a Basilisk," one of the elderly witches suggested in a shaky voice. "The Daily Prophet said that Potter boy has one he uses to terrify people into being his friends."

Harry felt the anger rising in his chest, but he was distracted by another tremor and another set of screams from nearby. He ran to the spot and watched as a witch tumbled down the side of the tower.

"It's getting worse, wouldn't you say?"

Harry looked up to see Cedric staring over the edge with him. This wasn't real. It was a dream, or some hallucination brought on by some old food or bizarre illness. Cedric was dead. He wasn't standing in front of him. This wasn't happening.

"Ah, well, I guess you don't need me to tell you that," Cedric said. "It is nice to have some help, though." He smiled at Harry.

Just as Harry smiled back, there was a loud grinding noise as the stones under Harry and Cedric's feet lurched. A large crack snaked its way from the center of the tower to the edge, just inches behind Cedric. Before Harry could do anything else, a thunderous tremor hit the tower and he felt himself drop a few inches. Without thinking, he shoved Cedric backward across the break in the stone. As he himself stumbled backward, his heels caught on another small crack that had formed, and he fell back onto the stone.

Harry scrambled to his feet and prepared to jump across the break, but to his horror, the section of the tower he'd pushed Cedric onto was already falling away, taking twenty or more people with him. He felt sick. He watched in horror as the chunk of the tower tumbled down the side, tossing wizards and witches in all directions.

"What did you have to do that for?" a wizard called out from behind him.

"I didn't mean to... I— I was trying to save him..." Harry stuttered.

"Looked to me like you were trying to push him off the tower," the wizard replied with an accusing glare.

"I— I wasn't... I didn't mean to... I thought I—" The words stumbled out of Harry's mouth as he stood on the small ledge overlooking the chasm left by the falling stone.

"I saw 'im! Pushed that other one off the edge 'e did!" a witch called out above the noise.

There was another shake, and another small section of the tower fell away. Harry instinctively ran towards the people as they struggled to climb up the broken rocks to safety. He held out his hand to one wizard, but when he saw Harry, his eyes opened wide and he screamed then let go of the large beam he'd been holding onto.

Harry stood and turned to face the remaining people on the tower. The rock floor was now broken in many places, with large gaps where pieces had fallen to the courtyard below.

It wasn't real, he told himself. It can't be real. Cedric died long ago. It hadn't been his fault. That had been real. This was something else. The fear in the eyes of everyone around him was real enough, though. They were cowering away from him now, but the shaking didn't stop. Every minute or so, the tower would shudder again, and another piece would drop away. Everyone was trying to get away from him, fleeing onto crumbling ruins which were barely holding their weight.

As more and more tower split away, less and less witches and wizards were left on the tower and their fear became more and more desperate. They cursed him every time he made a move to get closer to them. So he leapt from rock to rock as the tower crumbled away beneath him. Less than half the others were left now, and after the last spectacular tremor, Harry was left standing on a pinnacle of stone rubble with only a single ledge a few feet away from him. Above the ledge was a small group of wizards who had their wands pointed at him.

"It's not me!" Harry shouted at them. "I'm trying to help you!"

"Like you helped Diggory? Or that bloke who claimed to be your godfather?" one of them shouted back. "No! You stay where you are. We're safe enough without you."

Harry looked around for any other way off the column he was on. There was nothing else. He pulled out his wand. Maybe he could try to cast some ropes. Suddenly, a voice cut through the noise.

_Jump._

Harry paused and searched for the source of the voice. It had been a woman's voice. Harry studied the remaining occupants of the tower. Was it a spell? It had been soft, soothing and familiar.

_Jump._

Harry stared down to the courtyard below at the litter of boulders and bodies strewn across it. He would never live through the fall.

_It's for the best._

"No," Harry said under his breath, "There's always another way."

_There is no other way,_ the voice insisted. _It is what you were meant to do._

The voice sounded familiar to Harry. Some far corner of his mind identified it as his mother. Was it really her? Was she haunting him?

"I have to try and help them," he pleaded in a louder voice. "I have to try." Surely his mother would understand that.

_No you don't, Harry. You're only making it worse._

"I can't just give up!" he shouted at the sky. "I can help them. I have to help them! I have to try!"

_Don't think of it as giving up. It is simply accepting your fate. Accept it, and everything will work out as it was intended. Now jump, Harry. There isn't much time._ The voice was getting stronger, more insistent, and less soothing.

"No," Harry replied, fighting back his tears. "No! I won't accept it. I can save them. I'll find a way."

_Harry, you must. Jump, Harry. It's the way it's supposed to be._

Harry ignored the voice. He could feel something wrong in his stomach. A familiar lightness. The feeling of Voldemort's happiness. It was a trick. This was another one of his tricks. Harry ignored the wizards by the ledge and jumped. The column of rock tumbled away as he leapt from it.

_No, Harry. You must accept—_

Harry shouted to drown out the voice as he leapt up to the remaining part of the stone floor. As soon as his feet hit the large flat stones, the tower was rocked by a series of loud tremors, knocking everyone off their feet.

"I won't give up! I have to try!"

Tears streamed down his face as he ran for the crowd of wizards working to wrench the door at the center of the tower open. They cried out as he approached, then again as the remaining rock of the tower seemed to simply rip itself apart. In an instant, the last of the floor broke apart and cascaded down to the courtyard, leaving him bruised and clutching a heavy wooden beam poking out into the empty space where the tower wall had once been.

Harry watched in horror as the last few wizards desperately clung to the sides of the tower. In his head he could hear a soft hissing laughter.

_You can't save them all, Potter._

Harry sat up in bed, suddenly awake. He was cold and clammy, and his muscles ached as if he'd been doing chores for days. He tried to catch his breath as his heart pounded in his chest. That hadn't been like the other dreams. They'd always been the same. That dream was different in too many ways to describe. Slowly, fearing what he might find, he reached up to feel the scar on his forehead.


	2. Holidays at the Dursleys

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 2 - Holidays at the Dursleys**

* * *

Harry didn't go back to sleep. He never did after one of his dreams. In the ten days since he'd returned from Hogwarts, he hadn't had a single full night of sleep. He was still haunted by dreams of the Department of Mysteries, but they were quite a bit different than they were that spring. There was no locked door anymore. All the doors were open, but he only ever went through one. He recognized it well, just as well as the veil over the arch.

He always saw the same thing, and he always woke up and stayed awake, struggling with the decision either to put it from his mind or to try to remember it forever. He'd never had a dream on top of the Astronomy Tower. It had felt different; it felt more real and less escapable than his normal dreams. It was usually easy to recognize when he was having a nightmare. He simply always chose not to wake up. He didn't think he'd ever wake up from this most recent dream.

It was deeply troubling. It had been a while since he'd had any nightmares about Cedric, and yet he had been there. He wasn't in the normal nightmares, anymore. It was just Sirius now. Sirius was always alive in his dreams, even if for only a short while. That was the only thing that made them bearable.

Harry knew Sirius was gone. He'd been Harry's best hope for something of a family. Now he had only the Dursleys, and that wasn't a comforting thought. They wanted Harry about as much as Sirius' mother had wanted him.

Of course, just like Sirius, Harry had a friend whose family would take him in. The Weasleys treated him like a son, or at least a close cousin. If Harry had anything like a family, they would be it. Yet, here he was, stuck with the Dursleys for another summer.

Arthur Weasley had come to visit him the day after he'd arrived back at Number Four Privet Drive. At first, Harry was glad to see him there. The Order had threatened Harry's uncle that they would be checking on him, and Harry had hoped they would follow through. When he saw Arthur standing at the door, he wondered for a moment if he would be taking him to Grimmauld Place, or even simply leaving for the afternoon. He didn't cherish the thought of two months spent with his 'relatives'.

However, Arthur's visit was entirely business, and he'd immediately asked to speak with Harry privately. Vernon and Petunia had shown every bit of hospitality that Harry had expected, and he and Arthur were soon standing behind the house discussing the outcome of an Order meeting the previous night.

Harry learned very little of the meeting except that, most importantly —and shockingly— Harry and the rest of the younger wizards at Grimmauld Place were to be invited to join the Order. Neville and Luna would have been as well, but neither Neville's Gran nor Luna's father were willing to allow them to join. Still, Harry saw this as a good sign.

"I'm not going to say that we were wrong to not tell you about the Prophecy, Harry," Arthur explained. "But I won't say that it was right, either. You shouldn't be kept in the dark about things that concern you so closely, and we're going to try and change that."

"So, you're going to tell us everything?" Harry asked skeptically. "Even Ron and Hermione?"

"Of course not, Harry," Arthur answered with a frown. "No one knows everything, except perhaps Dumbledore. Only a handful of us know what the Prophecy even says. Oh, the rest knew there was one —little point in hiding that— but they didn't know what it said. Also no one knows how Snape gets his information except Snape and Dumbledore, and no one really knows what contacts Mundungus Fletcher has."

"Everyone in the Order has a job," he explained to Harry. "And we help each other do those jobs, but some information is too dangerous for everyone to know."

"Like the Prophecy, or what Snape's been doing, or anything else that Voldemort might read from my mind?" Harry grumbled with annoyance.

"We're not worried about that, Harry. That was the first message I was to give you: Practice your Occlumency. Voldemort cannot possess you, and he will not be able to read your thoughts like a book, but you will need to learn to control the sensations you send and receive from your scar."

Harry wasn't sure how he would be able to do that. It wasn't like he had anyone around to help him practice. Arthur didn't seem to think it would matter. He told Harry that Snape had told him everything he needed to know to successfully control the pains from his scar.

"Next, I should tell you that the Daily Prophet has put restrictions on its distribution. It is only going to recognized wizard households and establishments. We're still trying to keep this place somewhat secret, so I'm afraid we had to cancel the deliveries." Harry felt a little disappointed by the news. The Daily Prophet had been his only reliable source of news. Arthur promised that some member of the Order would be in touch with him to give him any urgent news.

"Now, if you need to get in touch with any Order member, you can still use your owl, but use one of these." With a little rummaging, Arthur pulled a small wooden box from his pocket. It opened like a miniature chest to reveal a small crystalline ball, which shimmered as if filled with a swirling metallic liquid.

"This," he said as he picked up the ball, "is an Obscuring Orb. You simply touch it to the piece of parchment you've written on, and it will hide its contents, as such—" Arthur pulled a scrap of parchment from his pocket and touched the orb to it. The scrap swirled with color and a second later, it had become a small visitors map of Diagon Alley. "If you want to see what was written, you have to use another the same way." Arthur fished another orb from his pocket and touched the map, making it dissolve back to the scrap of parchment.

"They aren't meant for heavy use," Arthur warned, "and while they will work for years, they become a little... er... troublesome to use after a short time. We are only using them until we can find some better method for you to use." Harry took the Orb and covered it with his hand.

"Finally, there is some news you'll need to know." Harry felt surprise and a little relief. They really were going to tell him more. "Cornelius Fudge disappeared sometime yesterday. There was a note in his office. Amelia Bones has assumed the position of Minister of Magic for now, pending official approval. Remembering your trial, she has very quietly suspended the rules against underage magic."

Harry perked up at that news. Arthur went on to explain the new rules. All students enrolled in a magical learning institution would be allowed to practice and perform magic so long as they did not violate the rules on exposing magic to Muggles.

"She did this so you and the others would be able to protect yourselves, not so you can torment Dudley, though I daresay he could do with a bit more torment in his life."

Harry felt himself smiling. The Dursleys didn't really count as Muggles as far as the law was concerned. They weren't any different from Hermione's parents. At least, they already knew about magic, though they had quite different opinions on it. If nothing else, this news would keep the Dursleys from treating him too terribly over the next two months.

"Finally, I have news from Dumbledore that your O.W.L. results won't be delivered until August, instead of mid-July." Harry stared at Arthur in annoyance and confusion.

"You know," Harry started to say, "I don't think I really care if they show up next year. I'll never be an Auror. What is the point of—?"

"Sirius was so proud when he heard that you were going to become an Auror," Arthur said in a soft voice. Harry stopped talking abruptly and stared at the grass.

"It'll never happen," Harry said. "Snape will never take me. He only takes the best scores."

"Well, I can't say much about that," Arthur replied. "I only know that Dumbledore told me to give you this." Arthur pulled a small book from his pocket and handed it to Harry. Harry squinted at the text, but couldn't make it out.

"Hold on, Harry," Arthur said as he pulled his wand out. He tapped the book lightly and it grew to three times its size in Harry's hand, making him drop it to the ground with a loud thump.

Harry stared in wonder and dismay at the text scrawled across the cover of the book: _Potions of Power by Shalorian Firecombe_. He gave Arthur a quizzical look.

"I don't really know either, Harry," he said honestly. "I do know that Severus Snape can only keep you out of his classes. He cannot keep you from studying and taking the N.E.W.T. If you still want to be an Auror, I'd say that book is your best shot."

Harry stared at it with determination. If that is what it would take to become an Auror, then he'd give it his best try. Now, he didn't know if it was more out of desire to please Sirius, or to defy Snape. Both reasons seemed adequate.

After Arthur had left, his uncle had been much surlier than he normally was. Harry had spent the rest of the day cleaning his room and avoiding all of the Dursleys. For the most part, they avoided him. Starting the day after Arthur left, every day followed the same pattern. Harry would wake before sunrise, sweating and shaking after watching his godfather slip through the veil and hearing Voldemort's hissing laughter in his ears. He would stay awake and watch the sunrise, wishing that someone would come and take him from the Dursleys, but they never came.

He'd slip down to breakfast early, sometimes wordlessly helping Petunia in the kitchen. After breakfast, he'd return to his room and find something to occupy his time until lunch, when Petunia would usually come to fetch him. If he were lucky, he'd have only minor chores to do after lunch, like rearranging boxes or cleaning the table. He'd already spent one afternoon cleaning and polishing all of the Dursleys' silver. Lately, however, Petunia had barely been willing to talk to him.

That was acceptable to Harry. He had enough to worry about without having to deal with his aunt and uncle. After dinner, he'd return to his room, where he'd once again search for ways of occupying himself. He spent quite a bit of time practicing Occlumency. Without having Snape to attack him, he had to settle for simply forcing himself to push as much emotion from his mind as possible.

He thought he was doing quite well, but it was difficult to tell. His scar had been hurting or tingling daily since he'd returned from Hogwarts, but the Occlumency seemed to dull most of the sensation. It didn't get rid of the nightmares though, and Harry often remained awake late into the night hoping that exhaustion would prevent him from dreaming.

* * *

"I don't care if there's a meeting," Ginny said defiantly. "We're never going to hear what they're saying and I'm busy trying to enlarge this room."

"We don't have to try and listen in, they've invited us," Ron said impatiently. "Come on! It's starting soon!" He turned and left without waiting for her.

Ginny held her wand at her side and looked around the room. She'd taken the smallest room in Grimmauld Place, but it was better than having to share a room with Hermione or one of the adults. She managed to enlarge the closet enough that she could fit all of her clothes in it, but the room was a little more resilient. It still barely fit her bed, her trunk and a large desk.

She didn't understand what Ron was so excited about. The Order had made it quite clear what the Holidays would be like: nose out and keep quiet. They had spent most of the previous evening in the new parlor holding a huge meeting with more members than she, Ron or Hermione had known were in the Order.

They had argued that they should at least be able to listen in, but her parents had been firm and Mad-Eye Moody had scolded them when he found her trying to sneak an Extendable Ear through a crack in the wall. If they were inviting them down to a meeting now, there could be only one topic: rules and punishments. She was in no hurry to get a good seat just so Moody and her parents could give her a list of things she wasn't supposed to do.

She gave her wand another looping swish and a quick wave at the wall. It shuddered and scooted back another inch. Behind her, she heard footsteps walking toward her. "I know, Ron. I'll be down in moment." Disgustedly, she started looping her wand again.

"You'll find that a sharp jabbing motion is much more effective."

Ginny twirled to face Albus Dumbledore, who was standing serenely in her doorway. He smiled and gave his wand a swirl and a short jab, and the wall quietly moved back almost a foot. Ginny gave him a smirk. "Thank you, sir."

"You're quite welcome," he replied with a laugh. "Indeed, your progress was quite impressive. However, I believe there is something you would be much more interested in learning if you would join us in the parlor."

"Right," Ginny said unenthusiastically. "I think I'll just let Ron and Hermione tell me about it."

"I'm afraid they won't be allowed to." Ginny turned to look at her headmaster in confusion. He simply smiled and continued. "You see, Miss Weasley, there is a strict ban upon Order members telling non-members what is said in any of the meetings."

"But you won't let Ron and Hermione join—"

Ginny's eyes grew wide as she looked into Dumbledore's smiling face. She jammed her wand into her pocket and followed closely behind Dumbledore as he walked down the stairs to the kitchen and parlor.

She didn't know whether she was anxious or scared. Her stomach felt a little uneasy, but it seemed mostly because she was sitting with Ron and Hermione and facing about twenty other Order members including Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Remus Lupin. Lupin was the first to start talking.

"Good evening, again," he announced as he rose. "I assure you that tonight's meeting won't be as long, or as interesting as last night's, but it is perhaps just as important. Before us, are three of the four new members of the Order of the Phoenix. Along with Minister Bones' proclamation, this is an important point in the upcoming war. It's been decided that—"

"Hold on," Ron said loudly, "Three of the four? Who's the fourth?"

"The fourth could not be with us tonight," Dumbledore replied formally. "He is a Mr. Harry Potter. A fine boy —pretty good with a broom— about your age. Perhaps you've met him?" Nymphadora Tonks laughed and shook her head in a nearby chair.

"Why isn't he here?" Ron asked.

"We'll explain all of that if you're patient, Ron. Arthur has already spoken to Harry about this." Lupin took a minute to quickly introduce the members that the three of them hadn't seen quite as often, and then quickly moved on to much less interesting topics.

Lupin seemed bored by his own speech. He was simply saying all the things that Ginny had guessed would have gone with being a member. Most of the things were simply a list of things they shouldn't do. Some were fairly obvious, like not mentioning they were members of the Order in public, some were less obvious, like not mentioning they hadn't been at home over the holiday, and some were inexplicable, like the rule against borrowing cauldrons from another Order member.

"I know it seems there are a lot of rules," Lupin said apologetically, "but this is quite serious. If you haven't considered it before, understand now that by joining us, you are accepting some increase in the danger you're already in. That danger will increase for all of us if you act irresponsibly."

"That means you tell no one what goes on here, unless they're a member, understand?" growled Mad-Eye Moody. "It's no use telling one of you something without telling the others, but if I catch you telling anyone else about the Order, you'll be lucky if you wake up before you're fiftieth birthday."

"Yes, I think I explained that, Moody," Lupin said quietly.

"No one, understand?" Moody said in his rough voice. "Not your roommates, or your favorite professor, or the local ghost, or any enchanted diary you find in your trunk," he added while glaring at Ginny.

Ginny returned the sour look, but felt a chill run down her spine at the realization of what she'd agreed to. She'd agreed to join the fight against Voldemort, the same Tom Riddle she'd been utterly enslaved to for months in her first year at Hogwarts. What hope did she have of helping?

She barely listened to what Lupin was saying as she scanned the room. It was filled with Aurors, Ministry officials, Hogwarts professors, professional healers and charmers, and wizards twice as old as her parents. They were some of the most talented and clever witches and wizards in all of Britain. She hadn't done anything. Even Ron and Hermione had done more than she had. She hadn't even fought at the Department of Mysteries. She ran until a Death Eater broke her ankle, and then waited, hoping for someone to save her.

That was all she'd ever done. She had always been the one who needed to be rescued. She would never get Tom's words out of her head, but a new voice had joined his: the voice of Bellatrix Lestrange offering to torture her until Harry handed over the Prophecy. Was that all she'd ever be? Was that all she had to look forward to?

She turned her attention back to the meeting and tried to listen as Mrs. McGonagall explained the changes in the rules about underage magic. Ginny decided at that moment that she'd have to start practicing. Even if Harry didn't continue with the D.A., she'd practice, and improve.

When McGonagall was finished, Mad-Eye Moody stood up slowly. "I've heard quite a bit about the lot of you," he growled. "You've got quite a bit of talent spread between the four of you, but not enough in the way of respect for authority." Hermione looked slightly offended.

"Dumbledore has entrusted the Order to Remus and I, and there isn't a scrap of information that you can't tell us. So—" he barked, making Ron jump, "—while you're here, anything you see, or hear, or learn, you tell to one of us just as soon as you can, understand? When you get to Hogwarts, that will be a different matter."

Ginny, Ron and Hermione all nodded immediately.

"So if you get any ideas, or see anything odd, you tell the two of us. If you want to have any discussions with strange books—" his magical eye swiveled to point directly at Ginny "—you ask us first. And if you have any secrets—" He stared at Ron and Hermione, and walked slowly and jerkily forward. "—If you have any secrets at all, you tell us. Any secrets, mind you, especially of the Potter variety."

Ron and Hermione said nothing, but gave each other concerned looks. Ginny tried to understand what he'd meant by that. Why was he so eager to get them to tell the Order any of Harry's secrets? What did Harry know that he wasn't telling them? Or what made them think that he wouldn't tell them once he was part of the Order?

"I think that's good enough, Moody," Tonks announced as she stood up and walked toward the three of them. "Now, if you still want to be in the same group as cranky old Alastor, I have some gifts for you." Tonks removed three wooden boxes identical to the one Arthur had given Harry. She explained the use of the Obscuring Orbs and even let them try them out on three rolls of parchment.

"If you need to talk to someone, Remus has agreed to be here at all times. Now, if Remus is... er... indisposed—"

"I prefer the term 'feral'," Lupin, corrected with a smile.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Fine. So if wolf-boy is 'feral', then you should be able to find Moody." She leaned closer to them, and said in a lower voice, "It's probably worth waiting for Remus, though."

"So what are these used for?" Ron asked, turning his over in his hand and watching the cloudy liquid flow around inside the Orb.

There was a loud thunk as Moody's leg struck the floor and Tonks turned to glare at him. "You use these whenever you need to get a hold of any specific person outside the house, whether it's me when I'm at home, or your father when he's at the Ministry."

There was a bizarre noise like the sound of three bullfrogs being strangled.

"Hold on, Alastor," Tonks said over her shoulder. "And of course, you should use these when you send owls to Harry."

"We can send messages to Harry?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Of course. He's in the Order, now. Just make sure you always use your Obscuring Orb." Tonks glared at Moody. "You can tell him anything we tell you, except for the things we tell you not to or things you might hear, well... accidentally."

"And if he says anything—" Moody started shouting.

"Yes, Alastor, I'm getting to that!" Tonks shouted back. "If Harry ever says anything that sounds interesting, even if it doesn't seem like it matters, let Remus know. Finally, any correspondence with another Order member should be burnt or destroyed as soon as you're done reading it. It's just safer if no one really knows who exactly is in the Order."

The rest of the meeting was an almost infuriating mixture of boredom and amazement. Various Order members gave brief explanations of what they and others had been doing for the last year. Ginny was shocked at how organized it truly was, despite how haphazardly people had been coming in and out of Grimmauld Place in just the last day.

As she walked up the stairs after a long night of listening to more information than she'd heard ever heard in a single night, she felt a surge of pride and purpose. She was going to be part of the fight against the wizard who'd caused her so much pain, and she hoped she'd have the chance to repay Harry for both of the times he'd protected her. She could see similar feelings on Ron and Hermione's faces.

"Are we supposed to remember all of that?" Ron whispered when the got to the top of the stairs.

"I don't think so," Hermione answered. "I don't think Lupin even knew what everyone had been doing."

"How much do you suppose they aren't telling us?"

* * *

In the week that had followed the Order meeting, Hermione and Ron had exchanged a number of messages with Harry. They didn't have much to say. It hadn't been terribly long since the train home, and there was only so much they could say about joining a secret organization that didn't ask them to do anything.

Harry didn't share much either. It wasn't as if his day-to-day life was even as exciting as Ron's or Hermione's. He certainly had more time to think than either of them, but there wasn't much for him to write about.

In truth, he knew there was more he wanted to talk about, but he didn't know if he could talk to anyone about it. He felt both worried and embarrassed about asking, and he didn't think Ron and Hermione were the correct people to ask.

Something was changing. He knew it. He could feel it. He had tried to ignore it at first, hoping it was just another part of growing up with magic, but part of him knew that it wasn't normal. He hadn't even noticed right away. He had been too preoccupied with the loss of Sirius. He'd been too upset to notice anything. That should have been the first sign.

Ever since those excruciating movements when Voldemort had possessed him, Harry had felt a difference. After he was back at Privet Drive, he found himself unintentionally performing magic, but it wasn't like blowing up his aunt or removing the pane of glass at the zoo. He found books and doors opening and closing for him when he was frustrated or angry. Objects he reached for would occasionally make small leaps into his hands at the last moment. Not far, usually only an inch at most, but it was noticeable.

At first, he was quite impressed with his new abilities. He knew little of what he should expect from his magical abilities as he grew up. He wondered if it was a normal thing for young wizards to pick up.

At the time, he had still been both angry and sad over the loss of Sirius. He had been trying to practice making things jump into his hands. It was slow work, but it kept his mind off his godfather. Figuring that lighter objects would be easier, he'd been trying to make his quill jump to him. He could only get it to leap an inch or two into his hand, but it was an improvement from earlier that day.

As he focused on trying to get it to jump farther, his door suddenly flew open and slammed against the wall. Harry immediately jumped up, feeling a sharp pain in his forehead.

"Boy!" Vernon bellowed, "I thought I told you to wash—"

Vernon's voice was cut short, leaving him standing fixed on the spot, while his face turned deathly pale. His mouth moved silently, and eventually some sound came out.

"Just— just put it... down," he mumbled.

Harry looked in his hand and saw his wand pointed directly at Vernon. He remembered feeling the anger coursing through him, and then the fear as he looked to desk across the room where his wand had been. His left hand reached to his scar and found it warm and tender, while his head still throbbed dully.

His wand clattered on the floor.

Vernon's face had remained pale while he closed the door as he backed out of Harry's room and locked the door. Harry had been stuck in his room for two days after that, with only meals delivered by Petunia.

Since that day, he'd never tried to summon or open anything, but it still happened. If he was angry and he unintentionally opened a door, he would feel a twinge in his scar. It became clear to him that this was not his power it was Voldemort's.

After that, Harry spent most of his spare time practicing Occlumency. It helped him deal with the loss of Sirius and prevented most of the unintentional magic he'd been performing. He grew to loathe and almost fear it over the next week.

He concentrated even harder on Occlumency, but it didn't seem to have any effect. It didn't even stop the nightmares, though Harry found that he occasionally slept through them, only to be woken up slightly later, as his mind replayed the same dream repeatedly.

This night hadn't started out any different from any other, and yet Harry felt something different as he drifted off into the dream he'd come to expect.

He found himself in the same round room with doors all around him. It was the Department of Mysteries. He knew this dream. Even in the dream, he knew what was coming. There was a commotion coming from behind one of the doors. Harry could hear voices shouting orders and curses on the other side. He walked to the door. He could hear Sirius shouting and laughing. There was confidence and excitement in his voice. He was enjoying himself. In his dreams, Sirius was still alive.

Harry knew Sirius was gone. He knew this wasn't real. He knew what would happen when he entered the room. He'd seen this many times. However, for a moment he'd get to see Sirius happy and free. He reached for the handle.

Another door sprung open silently. Harry paused, and tried to remember if that had ever happened before. He turned and cautiously walked to the door. He looked in, but saw only darkness. Suddenly two boys popped into existence and fell to the ground. A voice filled the room: "Kill the spare," and the room flashed with green light.

Harry turned away, and found that all the doors were open now. He realized that he had nowhere to go. Everywhere he looked he saw horrible things from his past: Hermione lying on a bed, petrified. Ron being dragged into the Whomping Willow, Arthur being bitten, and Ginny Weasley's lifeless body lying on the floor of the Chamber of Secrets. Then he noticed a soft, warm light coming from one of the doors. As he stepped closer to it, he felt lighter, and suddenly he didn't care so much about the other doors. This door must be his way out.

He walked through the door into a void of gentle light, and felt a cool breeze blowing on him. It was a welcome relief from the horrors he had escaped. He tried to see something more of his surroundings, and found that it wasn't a light as he had thought. Looking back toward the door, he saw that now it seemed the light was coming from the room.

The door closed, and he was plunged into a cold darkness.

He panicked, and called out to anyone. He tried walking, or running anywhere but he only found darkness. He lost track of time and where he was. The world was cold and dark and he was alone.

Then, ahead of him, he saw faint figures. It was two people talking. He felt repulsed by them, but at the same time, something else was pulling at him. He felt he was being tugged and stretched toward the figures. The closer he got, the clearer they were. He walked right up to them.

When he got close, he was hit with a wave of revulsion as he recognized the two wizards.

"When will it begin, Master?"

Voldemort paused and smiled, "Soon. Quite soon."

"Who will be the first?"

"Not now, Bellatrix. We have a visitor."

"Is it him?"

"It's impolite to eavesdrop, Harry Potter."

* * *


	3. Daydreams

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 3 - Daydreams**

* * *

Harry woke with a start. A dull, throbbing pain was coming from his scar. He unconsciously rubbed it as he looked out the window.It was dark, but the faint glow of the sun could be seen as the sunrise approached.

Harry was confused. He'd had a dream.He thought the practice he was doing would prevent such things. Still, the pain was much less than he remembered from previous dreams, and yet it felt more real, almost like the dream on the Astronomy Tower.

He stood up and walked around his room. His confusion was overriding his exhaustion, and the dull pain only made it easier to wake up instead of trying to get back to sleep. His thoughts eventually focused on the dream again. He knew it was not an ordinary dream. He also was beginning to think that the Occlumency wasn't working out as well as he had hoped.

He tried remembering the dream, and it came back to him in surprising detail. He'd been waiting for Voldemort to make a move, but nothing had happened. Now, he'd had a dream with Voldemort planning something. Where did the dream come from? Was it from Voldemort, or was it simply his imagination supplying him with what he had been expecting for the last month?

He ran his hand through his hair and stared at Hedwig.Hedwig hooted at him, and inched closer to the door of the cage.

"I see," he said. "You want me to tell Dumbledore."

Hedwig hooted in response.

"What if it's like the last one? He used me, and Sirius died," Harry said in a tone much louder than he had planned. While the Dursleys were mostly ignoring him, he wasn't sure if Vernon would stand for his nephew engaging in an argument with an owl.

Hedwig simply stared at him.

"Well? How do I know it's real?" he asked in a more frustrated, and much quieter voice. "What if he's just trying to trick me? Will Dumbledore believe me?If he does, what happens if it's all just a lie?"

Hedwig stood her ground, and hooted back.

Harry sighed. "Right then, but I'm not going to write to Dumbledore." He rummaged through his trunk to find some better parchment, and began writing a letter.

_I've had another dream with Voldemort in it. I don't know if it's a real dream, or a trick, or just my imagination, but it seemed different than the others. It seemed more real. I don't want to make anyone panic until I know it's real._

_Anyway, in it Voldemort was talking to Bellatrix Lestrange. I didn't hear much before I woke up, but I think it was a short conversation. He said something would be starting soon. But he didn't say what._

_He also knew I could hear him._

_I don't know if it's even real. Let me know what you think. Should I tell someone? Send your response back with Hedwig_

_Harry_

As Harry waited for a response, he tried to find some task to occupy his time. He tried reading. He reorganized his trunk, and then moved on to try and tidy up his room. Eventually, he sat on the floor by his bed and practiced clearing his mind. He discovered that it was difficult to get the image of Voldemort out of his mind. He kept hearing the words echoing in his head. Whatever he was planning was starting soon. He worked to ignore it, until he had pushed it from his mind, even if only temporarily.

In an effort to try and take his mind from the dream, he did something that would have made Hermione proud: He took out the new Potions text and started reading it. He had to admit that there were some interesting things that could be done with potions as he skimmed through the book. There was a potion which would enhance your eyesight, one which would prevent you from floating in water, and another that would put a hippogriff to sleep on contact. There were also a host of other potions for which Harry could think of very few situations which would require their use. He couldn't imagine ever wanting to grow horns on his knees and elbows, or needing to not see the color yellow, although he did think that Draco might look quite fetching in iridescent scales.

He eventually gave up on Potions, and instead found his broom and cleaning kit, and spent a couple of hours cleaning it as completely as he could. It certainly didn't need it, but Harry preferred the monotonous job of adjusting the twigs of his broom to thinking about the dream he'd had.

He wished that he could still get the _Daily Prophet_. Even if it was mostly filled with misinformation, it would pass the time, and Harry had too much time on his hands. He wondered if he could get Ron or the twins to owl old copies to him.They sent him other things. It shouldn't be any different.

When all the sticks were adjusted, he went about polishing and fixing the smallest scratch or dent he could find. He had realized that the Firebolt was one of the few things he had from Sirius. He almost didn't want to ever ride it again for fear that some accident might damage it.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by tapping at the window, it was Hedwig. He immediately let her in, and allowed her to grab a snack and retreat to her cage after dropping a page from a catalogue showing the season's new fashions.He searched the floor for his Obscuring Orb. When he found it he touched the crystal to the page, and it suddenly became a piece of parchment with his name written in Hermione's handwriting.

_Harry,_

_Ron and I both read your letter, but Ron told me to write the response._

_We both think this could be something very serious. It might be nothing, but you shouldn't ignore it. We all know that he must be planning something. If we know it's going to start soon we can be prepared for whatever it is._

_As important as the information might be, you shouldn't even be having those dreams. This is why Dumbledore wanted you to continue with the Occlumency. You really shouldn't neglect it like this. Even if he can't possess you, he might be able to do other things._

_Finally, despite Ron's accusations of betrayal, I have already told Moody and Lupin about this. The adults have said that they will trust us, and we promised not to keep anything which sounded important from them. I am supposed to tell you that if you get any more dreams you are to report them immediately to either Moody or Lupin. These are serious times, and we really shouldn't keep anything from the Order._

_Love, Hermione and Ron_

Scrawled across the bottom of the note in messy handwriting was a note from Ron:

_She's serious, mate. I didn't want to tell Moody, but she wouldn't listen. She can be scary when she wants to be._

After Harry finished the letter he sat silently on his bed. He clutched the letter in one hand and ran the other through his hair. His previous anxiety was turning into annoyance. He hadn't honestly believed that they would keep this a secret, but he was getting angry at the thought of yet another summer spent at the Dursleys' while everyone at Grimmauld Place kept him in the dark.

He couldn't do that. It hadn't worked last year, and he wasn't going to wait and see what horrible results it might have this year.Well, he thought, at least this time I have a good idea of what's coming. He didn't know how to stop it, or even how to fight it. He couldn't even fight the dream he'd had.

He thought back to the dream and remembered Hermione's comment about not practicing Occlumency. He had been practicing. He thought he was actually doing quite well.

No, he told himself, something was different. In the dreams before he'd felt like he was the one doing everything. He'd _been_ the snake that attacked Arthur. In this one he felt like he was there, but separate. He tried to remember what it felt like: the odd feeling he had when it started, a tugging, stretching feeling, and then the detached feeling he had throughout the dream, like he was watching his own life on a television.

He remembered the aching of his scar, and the feeling as if he were being restrained and forced to watch. He remembered the smile on Bellatrix's face and could almost feel the hatred in Voldemort's voice. He tried to remember more. There had to be more than what he remembered. Maybe if he cleared his mind he could remember something that might help him figure out what they had planned.

As he let go of all his thoughts, he focused on the dream. At first there was nothing. Then, slowly, hazy images started forming in his mind, as if he was reliving the dream. The haze cleared to show a cloaked figure walking. It must have been Voldemort, since other cloaked figures were bowing and looking down as he passed. The image dissolved, leaving Harry feeling lost and disoriented for a while. He tried even harder to remember and finally a series of images flashed before him: a dark stone hallway, a dim room cluttered with books and wizards, and a group of cloaked figures holding down an old man who cried out and fell limp as one of them hit him with a curse. Harry tried to hold onto the image and he heard a frustrated yell from one of the Death Eaters, but then it too faded.

Harry saw a Death Eater. He recognized him. It was Nott. He said something, but it sounded like he was under water. He was losing focus. Harry thought he could make out the words, "We haven't found it" and another word that had to be "Hogwarts". That meant he still had time.He tried to hear more, but the image faded.

He tried to recover it, but instead he started seeing other things. He saw a body huddled in the corner of a dark, damp cell, then Dementors walking out of a forest. The images started coming faster: an eagle-owl flying, a cauldron boiling, and wizards walking down a path. He forced himself to relax as more things flashed through his mind: a black wand, torches burning, an old book burning in a fireplace, and a hissing serpent. Suddenly, snakelike eyes flashed in his mind, and his scar exploded with pain.

As Harry's muscles spasmed in reaction to the pain, he lost his concentration and the dream faded from his mind. The pain faded as well, leaving him drowsy and numb. He felt triumphant at his success in mastering his own memories, but at the same time very worried and excessively tired. The dream had been longer than he remembered. He had forgotten most of it.

He had been made to forget most of it.

That was the difference. He was being controlled. He knew it. He tried to get up and walk to his desk, but as soon as he stood, his head swam and his legs turned to jelly. He dropped limply to the floor, breathing as if he'd just run a marathon. He decided —only somewhat willingly— that he'd rest there for a spell.

Harry remained on the floor for some time. Exhaustion overcame him, and he slept uneasily, unable to get those serpentine eyes out of is dreams. He awoke that evening to pounding on his door.

"Boy!", Vernon yelled. "Dinner!"

"Just put it by the door," Harry croaked. "I've got a lot to do."

Vernon returned later and carried a meager plate of food and some water into Harry's room, muttering, "I don't know why you have so much to do, Dudley doesn't have anything to do." He set the food down near where Harry was sitting and writing on some parchment. "Don't you lot take holidays?"

Harry looked at the plate of food. If he would have come down for dinner he would have been able to get more to eat, but he needed answers more than food. "Most of us do, yeah," he replied.

"Oh, I see. And you're different than the rest, are you?"

Harry's hand drifted to his scar, and he thought of the day he'd had.

"Yeah,", he said quietly, "I guess I am."

Vernon grunted and walked out the door.

Harry continued writing. He was trying to write down everything he could remember seeing.He still didn't know who he was going to send it to. It sounded like Moody and Lupin were in charge of Grimmauld Place and the Order. Where was Dumbledore? Part of him would have preferred to tell Dumbledore about his dreams, but Hermione had told him to tell Lupin or Moody if he had any more visions.

He decided not to tell them that he remembered all of these things afterward. He'd just pretend that he hadn't told Hermione everything. He also left out the end of the dream, and the fact that he had been forced to forget everything.

As he finished the note, he addressed it to Remus Lupin. There was something about Moody that made lying to him very uncomfortable. Perhaps he's a Legilimens, Harry thought. Perhaps he'd just been an Auror for too long. Lupin was safer.

He tapped the parchment with the Obscuring Orb. Colors appeared and mixed eventually forming a photo of a family standing under a metal bridge, with a note in the corner: 'The bananas were great!'. With a frown and an uncertain glance, Harry set it aside.

He wanted to write to Ron and Hermione and tell them everything. He even got out fresh parchment and started writing, but he forced himself to stop. Hermione had been clear. She'd tell Lupin and Moody. It would be no different than Harry writing the letter directly to them.

He started thinking of who else he knew who would listen to him as he paced his room. He couldn't write to anyone outside the Order, not about this. None of the adults would keep this quiet, and he needed to be able to think about this before he told everyone else. The twins would keep it a secret, but would they be able to answer the questions he had?

He flopped down on his bed. It was useless. No one would have any idea how to answer his questions.

That wasn't true. There was someone. And they would probably keep it a secret as well. She was perhaps the the only person who might be both able and willing to answer his questions. Would she tell the Order? He'd just have to take the chance. He took out some parchment and a quill and began writing:

_Ginny,_

_I'm not sure how to say this. I need a very important favor from you. It's probably unfair to even ask, and you may not want to do it, but I don't know who else can help me._

_If you are willing to help me, please don't let anyone else read this. If anyone asks what this is about, tell them that it's about Quidditch or the D.A. or something. I'd rather you destroy this letter without reading it than let anyone other than you read it._

_I had a dream last night. I told Ron and Hermione about it. I'm sending Lupin a note about a bunch of details I remembered from it. I didn't tell him that I didn't remember those details until this afternoon._

_After I read Hermione's response, I tried to see if I remembered anything more. It took a bit of work, but I did. I assume they'll tell you, though they don't know that I didn't remember it originally._

_I'm worried. I didn't know it happened.I don't remember dreaming what I saw later. The feeling I got when I was dreaming. I felt held or trapped, I couldn't leave or stop it._

_I need to know something. And perhaps more. I need to know if you were able to fight Tom Riddle when he possessed you.I know you said you don't remember doing anything, but in the moment before he had control, could you fight him?_

_The worst part is that I'm still having these dreams. Hermione told me I shouldn't have given up on Occlumency, but that's the problem. I haven't. I've been practicing twice a day since your father first came here. I've been able to block other things, but not the dreams. The next time this happens, I'm going to try to fight back._

_I need you to keep this a secret. I know what Moody said, and I know what Hermione will say. You're the only person I can talk to about this. It's not because I want to keep secrets from the Order. I'll tell them whatever I find out. I just know that if I tell them now, I'll never get any answers about what is happening to me._

_Harry_

Even after he had Obscured the parchment (to a Muggle brochure for the Bahamas), Harry was questioning the wisdom of sending the letter. Would Ginny keep this a secret? If she did, how much trouble would she be in if anyone found out?

Harry paused as he struggled with himself. It really wasn't fair. What was she supposed to do? He'd given her a choice of betraying him or the Order. Harry thought of the crush she used to have on him. There were no answers there. She'd gotten over it. She'd had no troubles standing up to him when they left for the Department of Mysteries.

Harry closed his eyes as he remembered that day. His nightmares had long since mixed with reality, but he remembered how Ginny had stood with him in front of the Death Eaters. _She'll do it_ he said to himself. Part of him felt guilty, but a greater part wanted the answers that the Order would not give him.

With a deep breath and deliberate steps, he walked to Hedwig, and handed her the two letters. He held up the brochure. "I'm expecting responses to both of these, so stick around until they write them. This one is for Ginny. Deliver hers first, and pick up her response last. And try to avoid anyone else before it's delivered."

Harry had finished his meal and was already bored with _Potions of Power_ when Hedwig arrived at Grimmauld Place.

Everyone was just getting ready for another late dinner. The mood was somewhat more serious than normal, but that didn't stop the twins from showing some of their latest inventions to Mundungus Fletcher. The news from Harry earlier that day had reminded them of the inevitable future, and had brought a number of extra visitors. Bill was even there, and the addition of Fleur by his side was no longer remarkable.

Molly Weasley was tending a stew and some fresh bread.Ron and Hermione had just set the table and were sitting next to each other at one end of the table, across from Ginny and Tonks. Arthur, Lupin, Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt sat at the other end, discussing things in quiet tones.

As owls go, Hedwig was exceptional. Not only was she quick, but she understood and actually followed Harry's instructions whenever he gave them to her. However, there are times when even the best owls cannot fulfill their owners wishes.

Hedwig flew into Grimmauld Place through a window in the parlor left open specifically for the owls which ran messages to both Hogwarts and Little Whinging. She headed directly for the kitchen, despite the situation.

Nearly everyone noticed the snowy owl fly directly to the table. Hedwig dropped the brochure directly in Ginny's lap, and then turned and landed directly in front of Remus Lupin, with the photo on the table in front of her.

Ron, Hermione and Tonks all looked with surprise at Ginny, as she reached into a pocket and pulled out her Obscuring Orb.

"That's from Harry?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Ginny responded with a shrug. "Who else would use Hedwig?"

She touched the Orb to the brochure and Harry's letter appeared. With her confusion evident, she began reading. "Yes, it's from Harry. I guess they both are."

Remus spoke up. "This one is indeed from Harry. Tonks, you'll want to read this. Molly, too." Tonks got up and immediately joined the group reading over Lupin's shoulder.

Ginny was reading the letter intently and jumped as Ron turned back toward her and tried to peer at the letter.

"Well, what did he write?" he asked.

"He needs a favor," she replied distractedly.

"A favor? What kind of favor?"

Ginny froze, looked up at her brother and then around the room. She'd just reached the part where Harry asked to not let anyone read the letter. She didn't know what else it contained just yet, but she knew that it couldn't have arrived at a worse time.Instead of answering, she stood and stepped back from the table.

"Ginny? What favor?" Ron was standing as well now.

"He says... er... He wants me to..." she stammered trying to respond and read more of the letter at the same time.

Ron started walking toward her. "How about I just read it for myself, and save us both the time it takes you to try and get over the fact that Harry needs a favor from you?"

"No!" she said a little too forcefully. She was still reading the letter as she came up with an explanation. "He wants me to keep training as a reserve Seeker for the Quidditch team. He said he wants to make sure he has a backup."

The others were just finishing reading the other letter. Molly noticed Ginny standing with her letter from Harry.

"Ginny, what's that about?" Molly asked.

Ginny suddenly realized what Harry had asked her to do. Keeping things from Ron was easy. She'd been doing that for years. Lying to her parents was different, and now she wouldn't be able to get out of this without lying to everyone. Part of her wanted to do what she'd agreed to, and to tell Lupin.Another part of her remembered waking up in the Chamber of Secrets and seeing Harry. She owed him much more than what he was asking.

"Just Quidditch stuff. Harry wants me to be the reserve Seeker," she said as calmly as she could. She walked past Moody towards the fireplace where the stew was bubbling.Her mind was replaying the words from the letter: "_I'd rather you destroy this letter without reading it than anyone other than you read it._"

Moody turned to look at her suspiciously. "Quidditch?" he growled. "He sent a warning about Lord Voldemort's plans along with Quidditch advice?"

Ginny turned her back to the others and began stirring the stew with the same hand which held the letter.

"What are you doing over there?" Molly asked.

"Stirring the stew," she said as if it were obvious. The note was folded several times, but she wasn't sure if that would stop Moody's eye from reading it. It couldn't hurt and it would be easier to dispose of.

"There's nothing else in the letter? No news about the dream?"

"No. I thought he already told Hermione all about it." She twisted to look at Hermione, keeping the letter behind her. "What's Hedwig still here for? It looks like Harry wants a response."

"So it does, Miss Weasley. Remus, I assume you'll want to do that?"

Lupin got some parchment and started writing a response, but Molly stopped him. "It's late enough. Dinner first. Let Hedwig rest a while.Now clear off these papers."

Everyone finished preparing for dinner. Molly took the stew and brought it to the table. Ginny took the bread. As she passed by the fireplace, a folded piece of parchment fell from her hand and burned silently.

Dinner was quick and everyone was eager to discuss what Harry had told them. Ginny tried to sneak off when the discussion started. She read the other letter and knew everything she needed to.

"Could we see your letter, Miss Weasley?" Moody asked as he saw her leaving.

She gave him a surprised look. "I threw it in the fire."

"Why did you do that?" Arthur asked.

"Tonks said we were supposed to destroy any letters from another Order member."

"That's right, but you said it only about Quidditch," Moody growled as his eye shifted back and forth at her.

"Harry wrote it," she replied slowly. She was infuriated by Moody searching her for the letter. "And I don't have it, so you can quit looking. If you wanted it you should have asked for it sooner," she snapped.

"Very well, Miss Weasley," Moody said with a smile that looked more menacing than cheerful. "I would like to see any letters you get from Harry Potter."

"Fine," Ginny said with a scowl before turning and walking out of the room. As she walked up the stairs she could hear Moody still talking.

"That girl has been spending far too much time around Bill and the twins," he said loud enough to ensure she could still hear him.

Ginny sat down immediately and began writing as quickly as she could. She wasn't sure if anyone would notice if Hedwig was delayed or if anyone would come looking to talk to her. She knew that if anyone knew what she was about to do, it would probably be her last night at Grimmauld Place.

As her quill scratched across the parchment again and again, she was filled with a strange feeling of excitement. Her pulse quickened and at the same time she was beginning to get nervous and paranoid. It reminded her of the feeling she got in the Department of Mysteries as she was being chased by Death Eaters.

Did Harry feel like this whenever he was doing all the things he did? It was both frightening and intoxicating. The excitement was invigorating, and yet she was afraid of the chain of events she might be starting. She pushed the fears aside with thoughts of Harry. He had done so much, protected so many people without anyone to protect him.

She didn't understand where the thought came from, but when the moment came to decide whether to follow through with her plan, her only thought was of helping Harry.She would deal with the Order if they found out.

With grim determination she handed the letter (now disguised as directions to a party in Exeter) to Hedwig. She opened the window and Hedwig was on her way with only a few graceful strokes of her snowy wings.

Not long afterward, there was a knock at Ginny's door. Hermione's head poked in.

"Have you seen Hedwig recently?"

"Hedwig?" Ginny asked, looking up from the book she was reading. "Didn't Lupin send a message back to Harry with her?"

"Yes, he did," Hermione replied, "but I thought I just saw her leaving."

"Maybe you saw Icarus?" Ginny offered. "It is quite dark."

"Perhaps."

Hermione gave Ginny a strange look, then closed the door.

* * *


	4. A Conspiracy Born

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 4 - A Conspiracy Born**

* * *

Harry had given up on _Potions of Power_ long ago. He was alternately pacing around his room and lying on his bed. He knew when he sent the letters that it might take a while before he would get a response. And while he was eager to hear from both the Order and Ginny, part of him dreaded Hedwig's return, in case it might be carrying not two friendly responses, but only one condemning his attempt to keep information from the Order. Perhaps he had been foolish to share that information with anyone.

It was getting later than he had wanted. Just as he was beginning to wish that Hedwig just come back tomorrow, he heard a loud tapping on his window. He struggled to open it, but it finally gave and Hedwig swooped into the room and landed on his desk.

Harry walked to Hedwig, who hooted cheerily at him. However, Harry felt only cold remorse as he looked at the single roll of paper Hedwig had. He unrolled it and sighed in relief as two pieces of paper dropped to his desk, one a set of directions to a party, the other an advertisement for a horror movie marathon. Harry was beginning to wonder if the Obscuring Orbs had personalities of their own.

He looked at the two pieces of paper, knowing the sender of each. He wasn't sure which one to read first. Eventually he decided that whatever news Lupin would give him was less important to him than finding out if Ginny had and would continue to keep his secret. He took out his Obscuring Orb and grabbed the directions to the party.

_Harry,_

_First, I made sure no one else read your letter and I haven't told anyone else what you wrote in it. Unfortunately, Hedwig delivered both letters just as we were preparing a late supper and everyone knows that you sent me a letter._

_I lied to all of them. I told them that it was Quidditch business and that you wanted me to be your backup as Seeker. They were suspicious when I burned the letter and may ask you about it. I lied for you, so if you want to keep this a secret, you'll have to lie for me as well._

_To answer your question: No. I couldn't fight him. I almost wrote my own epitaph on that wall when Tom was controlling me. I struggled and fought as much as I could, but so did the roosters before I killed them, and I felt like I had as much of a chance as they did._

_No, Harry, I wasn't able to fight him. But I don't think you are being possessed by Tom._

_There is something more important though. I'm trying not to think about what the Order would do if they found out about what I'm about to do, so we will have to trust each other._

_The rest of the Order tells us more news now. They aren't nearly as secretive as they were, except where you're concerned. They aren't telling you everything, Harry. They debate about what you should do without asking you, and discuss everything you share with them without telling you what they're finding out._

_Moody will hex me if he finds out I did this, but it isn't fair. Voldemort is planning something. He has been since that day at the Department of Mysteries. There have been no attacks, and none of the Death Eaters have been seen around. They seem to think that your dream explains some of this, but I needed to write this instead of listening to find out why. They're afraid he might come after you. I have had this odd feeling ever since that day. Something is happening. I can almost feel it._

_They don't want you to know about it because they think you'll run off again. Even Dumbledore has said that you're safer where you are. I want you safe as much as anyone else, but they should at least tell you. They also intend you to stay with the Muggles until the day the Express takes us back to Hogwarts._

_I've got to go. I don't want anyone to find out what I'm doing. I'll do what I can to see that you know everything you should._

_Ginny_

Harry looked at the letter in amazement. He was angry that the people who he saw as his family would deliberately keep this from him, but was bewildered and overwhelmed by what Ginny had done. He had only wanted someone to answer his question, but instead he got—

What did he get? A Spy? Ginny had said that she was going to try to tell him what the Order didn't want to. Why did he need to spy on his friends? Harry didn't like that idea. No, she was more like an ally. Harry needed to keep her secrets as much as she kept his.

Harry quickly read through Lupin's letter. After reading what Ginny had to say, he found the response unsurprising. Lupin didn't really say much of anything. Just more of the same: be careful, stay safe, we're still looking for information. Harry frowned at the letter. Lupin was lying to him, or at least not telling him everything.

He looked over Ginny's letter again. He wanted to know what Lupin knew. He sat down and started writing a quick letter back to her to tell her to find out what the images he described could mean. He was trying to think of how she could do so without causing suspicion when he realized what he was asking her to do.

He couldn't order her to help him. He didn't like the idea of her taking any risks at all. The thought of her being punished because of something he had asked her to do made him want to write back and ask her tell the Order everything. He didn't want another person to be punished for something he did.

He crumpled up the parchment and tossed it in the bin. As he took out another piece, his door flew open.

"What do you think you're doing?" Vernon said through clenched teeth.

Harry looked at him calmly. "Well, see, we take these things called quills and we drag them across parchment to form lines." he said.

Vernon closed the door and stared at him.

Harry stared back. "We call it writing."

"Don't mock me, boy," he said in the loudest whisper Harry had ever heard. "I don't care what you and your freaky friends write about," he snarled as he walked to the window and closed it with a loud bang, "but I won't have that bloody owl flying in and out of your window at all hours of the day. I don't want to see it flying in or out of this house for a week."

"Would you prefer that my friends just show up here to talk to me then?" Harry asked, though he already knew the answer.

"NO!" Vernon bellowed, then continued in a quieter voice. "No." He seemed to be trying to make some terribly important decision. "Fine. Use the bloody bird —but not until Monday. I received a call from someone down the street who wanted to let me know that an owl had flown through one of our windows." He stepped closer to Harry. "Wanted to know if I needed help getting rid of it."

"Fine," Harry said, "I'll keep Hedwig in tomorrow. But she'll need to go out on Monday."

"Very well," Vernon huffed, "but do try and show _some_ sense in the future!"

And with that, he yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind him. Hedwig gave a plaintive hoot. Harry put his quill down and opened Hedwig's cage.

"Well, at least you'll get some rest," he said.

He took both of the letters and held them over his candle and they quickly burned to ashes.

Sunday passed without incident, at least in Harry's world. He spent most of the day wondering what was happening at Grimmauld Place. He regretted his promise to Vernon not to send Hedwig out. He kept imagining what Ginny might be doing to try and obey the wishes of Harry Potter.

It sounded too much like the servile behavior of the Death Eaters and it made him sick to think of what he might have done. The more the day wore on, the more he wanted to ignore his promise and tell Ginny to stop whatever she was doing.

As he went to bed, he dreaded the waiting he would have to do the next day. He slept restlessly, and had dreams of Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets, lying unconscious as bait to catch the Great Harry Potter.

In his dream he saw Riddle standing over her laughing. Then, the Tom Riddle he remembered turned to the Voldemort he was much more familiar with. Ginny was still on the floor, but she was dirtier, and her hair was so muddy that she was barely recognizable. There were Death Eaters around her and one of them was pointing a wand at her. As she clumsily pushed herself up onto her knees, a Death Eater stabbed the wand at her and shouted "_Iaculo!_!". She gasped and fell to the ground, coughing weakly as a pool of blood grew from around her mouth.

Voldemort stood over her body and laughed as a pool of blood grew around her body. Suddenly Voldemort was gone and Riddle was back. He was still laughing.

"You must have known she wouldn't escape me." he said with a sneer. "You can't protect them all Potter."

Harry jumped out of his bed and had already grabbed his wand off the floor. He had been dreaming, and he knew it, but it had felt so real. He searched for a clock. It was only a little after midnight, and he doubted that he would be able to get back to sleep with images of Voldemort and Ginny fresh in his mind.

Hedwig gave him a consoling hoot.

He looked back at the clock. It was Monday. Not by much, but it was. He found a piece of parchment and his quill and started writing. He needed to convince Ginny that she didn't want to help him. The image of Ginny on the ground was still fresh in his mind, and though he couldn't quite figure out why, he knew that he was willing to do whatever it took to make sure he never saw it again.

_Ginny,_

_Sorry for not answering earlier. My uncle was getting upset at Hedwig flying in and out of my room so much. Sorry about the hour, as well._

_I appreciate what you are trying to do, but you're not involved in this, and I don't want you getting involved. It's dangerous and people have already been hurt._

It pained him to write that. He knew that Ginny would understand that he was talking about one person in particular.

_I want you to be careful and stay out of this. I know it may seem easy and safe now, but it's getting worse. I don't want someone to tell me everything the Order says. I trust Ron and Hermione. They won't let the Order put me in danger._

_Thanks, anyway._

_Harry_

It was quite late when the letter finally reached Ginny. She had been asleep for a while, but was awoken by the sound of Hedwig tapping at her window. Hedwig was quiet but insistent.

"_Lumos!_"

Ginny stood up and wrapped herself in her dressing gown. Hedwig had left to circle around, and as soon as she opened the window, Hedwig gracefully soared through the window and in a few beats of her wings was perched on Ginny's desk.

"Harry couldn't sleep?" Ginny asked the owl.

Hedwig simply hooted at her.

"Right. Well, let's see what he has to say."

Ginny grinned at the flier. She was already guessing the contents before she had even started reading it. As she began reading it, her smile disappeared and her expression became quite stern. It was worse than she'd expected.

Hedwig began slowly edging back to the window, but Ginny quickly walked over and shut the window.

"Oh, no. He's not getting out of this that easily," she told Hedwig. "I'll get plenty of treats for you if you can find something to hit him with when you deliver this."

Ginny immediately sat down and started scratching out a response. She was groggy and tired, but wrote quickly. As she rolled up the letter, which now had 'Receipt for Return of Goods' in block letters across the top of it, she handed Hedwig an owl treat.

"I'll have more the next time you come back."

Back at Number Four Privet Drive, Harry was busy trying to avoid sleep. He was forcing himself to read some of _Potions of Power_, but was having trouble concentrating. It didn't help that he had reached the chapter on various sleep inducing potions. If he understood Dumbledore at all, the book meant that he'd be taking the class somehow, so he was trying to remember as much as he could. Not that it would matter. Snape would find some reason to take points from Gryffindor, or humiliate him, or destroy his work.

As he read through the ingredients in the Draught of Darkness, he wondered what Snape would be like. He would probably be worse. And he wouldn't be happy that Harry was in his class. He pictured Snape standing next to him, berating him for yet another failed attempt at creating a simple Doxy venom antidote.

In his mind, he saw his class standing around him in a circle, silently staring at him, with Snape circling him constantly. His partner was with him, probably Neville, but he couldn't see anyone's face. They were standing near a cauldron with a bubbling cloudy liquid in it.

"Well?" Snape said in a commanding voice, "Show me."

Neville pointed his wand at the cauldron and said something. The tip of his wand blazed orange and suddenly the liquid in the cauldron started rising up the sides of the cauldron, boiling faster and reddening until it reached a deep red color and began to spill over the sides and across the floor.

"_Crucio!_"

Neville dropped to the ground screaming. Then the wand was pointed at Harry. He reached for his wand, but as he did he tripped and fell to the ground. He jumped up as fast as he could and leveled his wand.

"_Expelli—_"

He was pointing his wand at his window where Hedwig was trying to get back in. He ran over and let her in. As she flew to her perch Harry looked around his room trying to figure out what had happened.

His chair was turned over on the floor, and his potions text was open on his desk. He'd fallen asleep. I guess that's the end of reading _Potions of Power_ when I'm tired, he told himself. He walked over and closed the book and took out one of his books on Quidditch instead, thinking that if he was going to have dreams, Quidditch was a much safer subject.

Hedwig gave an plaintive hoot.

"What?" Harry asked with more annoyance than he intended.

Hedwig flew out of her cage and perched on his lap, dropping the letter in his lap. He picked it up and found his Obscuring Orb.

"I should have known she'd respond immediately. I was hoping she'd— OW!"

Hedwig's talons were digging into his shoulder, and as soon as he reacted, she flew back to her cage.

"What was that for?" he asked her. As he started reading the letter, he turned back to her and scowled. "Traitor."

_Harry,_

_I hope Hedwig has found some appropriate way to express my reaction. I assure you it's no worse than what you would have gotten had you been so daft as to say that to my face._

_What were you thinking? Have you ever tried to stop Ron and Hermione from helping you? Have you ever told them it was too dangerous? I've been in as much danger as Ron or Hermione and I was better with a wand than anyone in the D.A. after you and Hermione._

_Ron and Hermione want to help, but Hermione would never do what I'm going to do, and Ron wouldn't be able to do it without her knowing. So tell me, Harry Potter, who else is going to help you, because the way I see it, I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO'S TRYING._

_I won't let them lie to you. Something is happening, and I promise that you won't have to face it alone —not when you don't have to. I'll be sending another owl soon with whatever news I can find."_

_Ginny Weasley_

Harry sat back and ran his fingers though his hair. He felt very confused. Her complete disregard for his wishes was upsetting, but it also made him feel better than he had felt for some time. He was surprised at the relief of knowing that someone else still supported him, and he felt something like pride in Ginny's actions.

Ron and Hermione probably wouldn't have agree with him, and despite the pain he felt at doing it, he resolved not to tell them any more than he would tell the rest of the Order. He took Ginny's letter and layed down on his bed. He read through it again, smiling at thought of being scolded by the small girl who used to barely be able to talk to him. Putting it aside, he eventually fell asleep.

The next day he slept in despite Dudley's attempts to wake him up by stamping around the house like an elephant. He knew he would have to get up eventually, and when he did Petunia would probably find some work to make him do. For the moment however, he enjoyed the relaxation of sleep that he hadn't known for far too long.

When he finally woke up he found a scrap of parchment and a quill. He tapped on Hedwig's cage to wake her up.

"I have another delivery for you," he announced as he carefully wrote out a message. "Don't worry. She'll like this one more than the last one." He finished it up quickly, made sure no one could read it, then handed it to Hedwig.

* * *

Ginny had been quiet most of the morning, spending most of her time in the kitchen doing everything from reading to helping her mother clean up after breakfast. She and Hermione were watching Ron and Tonks playing a game of exploding snap while they waited for lunch.

She'd been slowly relaxing, but sat up suddenly when she heard the light flutter of wings gliding through the open window. When she saw it was Hedwig, she felt the room go icy cold around her. To her horror, Tonks immediately put down her cards, stood up and shouted:

"Remus! Molly! Alastor! Hedwig's brought a message!"

As she feared, Hedwig glided over to Ginny and landed gracefully. She proudly held out her leg, showing Ginny where a note was attached. Ginny just sat fixed in her seat, terrified to simply touch the note. She knew that Tonks and Moody would want to see it. Perhaps she could find a way to just burn it.

"Well?" Ron prodded her. "It looks like it's for you."

Ginny looked at Hedwig and then threw her eyes over to the fire, hoping that perhaps Hedwig would understand her desire.

Hedwig just hooted cheerfully.

"Fine," Ron said, "I'll do—"

"NO!" Ginny shouted. "I mean— I'll do it. Like you said, it's probably for me."

She quickly removed the note and tried to make it seem as if it were natural for her to read all notes while walking toward the fireplace.

"It's from Potter, is it?" growled a voice behind her. It had to be Mad-Eye Moody.

"Er— Yeah," she mumbled, still edging toward the fire. "It's from Harry. I'm sure it's nothing important," she said. She needed to read the note without letting anyone else see it. She glanced down at it quickly and saw:

_Ginny,_

_You're right, I wasn't thinking..._

She tried to hide her fear, but her eyes gave her away. To make matters worse, Lupin and her mother walked in, both covered in dust and cobwebs.

"What's wrong, Ginny?" Molly asked as she dusted off her robes. "You look terrified. What does it say?"

"Erm... N-Nothing," she stammered. "Er— well— It's not that—"

"Nothing, eh?" Moody said, "Well, let's just see."

"_Accio Note!_"

Before Ginny realized what was happening, the note was already leaping from her hand and flying toward Moody. With a strangled cry she leaped after it, but she had no chance of ever reaching the rapidly flying note. Moody caught it in his hand. He seemed amused by Ginny's reaction.

Ginny, however, shared none of his amusement. She was terrified of what the note might reveal, but even more angry at the wizened Auror for stealing it from her. With a speed that surprised everyone, she pulled out her wand and pointed it at Moody.

"_Incendio!_"

"_Protego!_" came the reply from Moody as the ball of fire sped toward him.

The ball of flame bounced off the air around Moody and flew back toward Ginny. She nimbly dodged it as she raised her wand again.

"_Accio Note!_"

The note wrenched free of the surprised Auror's grasp and flew back toward Ginny. Her anger was now mixed with a spark of excitement and elation at having her spontaneous plan work. Now all she had to do was toss the note into the fire.

"_Fluvius!_"

Just as the note reached her hand, a flood of cold water struck her body. The shock and force of the water knocked her off her feet, and the note fell free as she slammed into the stone floor.

As she struggled to sit up, she saw the note. It was laying near the hearth, inches from the fire, but it was damp with water. It wasn't going to catch fire. She reached for it to toss it into the heart of the fire, but a foot descended on the note, and suddenly the battle-scarred face of Mad-Eye Moody was looking at her.

"Very good!" he said with a burst of laughter, "I would expect a similar show from any Auror trainee." He picked up the note.

"Alastor!" Molly called out, "What on earth do you think you're doing?"

"'Nothing', indeed," he barked, brandishing the note at her, "She was willing to duel an Auror over whatever's in this. Anything that important is something we all should hear."

Lupin strode over to Moody and took the note from him. "There were, perhaps, more diplomatic —and drier— ways of accomplishing that."

Moody looked unabashed as Lupin helped Ginny stand. She held out her hand for the letter, but Lupin only shook his head and gave her a apologetic look.

Ginny scowled and glared at Lupin and Moody like a cat who had just been forced to take a bath. She was drenched. Her hair hung off her head in wet tendrils and her clothes clung to her and dripped water on the floor. She was angry and shaking with both rage and cold. She prepared her self to be disciplined by the entire Order. Ron and Hermione just looked on with shocked fascination.

Lupin was reading the letter. At first, he looked surprised, but it quickly gave way to a look of confusion and uncertainty. He stared at Ginny as if he expected some explanation. Ginny responded with an icy stare, but her expression turned back to horror as Lupin began reading the letter.

_Ginny,_

_You're right, I wasn't thinking. I was only thinking of myself, but I'll need all the help I can get._

_Keeping you as a reserve is a bad idea. You're talented enough to play, and there isn't really anything I can say to stop you. There are others who may disagree with me, but I'd be happy to have you on my team._

Ginny tried not to change her expression. Was he talking about Quidditch, or her letter?

_We are a little short on players right now. Hopefully that will change soon after the next term starts. I certainly can't win matches all by myself, and I'd be happy to have you on my side. I'm sure Ron agrees with me, even if he doesn't say so._

_You should start practicing as soon as you like, but be careful and don't work too hard. It won't help any of us if you injure yourself._

Ginny was still shaking, but it was completely from the cold now. She kept her eyes on the floor so no one could see the happiness and relief in her eyes. Harry had expected the letter to be intercepted. He was helping her, and he wanted her help. Despite the chilly water soaking her clothes, she didn't feel as cold as before, though she didn't understand why.

"Quidditch?" growled Moody. "You did all that for a note about Quidditch?"

"It was _my_ note!" Ginny yelled back, some real anger mixing with her attempt to appear upset. "You had no right to take it!"

"If it makes you feel better, Ginny," Ron started, "I think Harry's right. You'd a make a great Chaser. It'd be a waste to keep you as a reserve."

Ginny gave Ron a quizzical look. Did he know what Harry was talking about? The look on his face made Ginny think that he didn't, but she wasn't sure. Instead of risking any more discussion of the issue, she walked over to Lupin and held her damp hand out for the letter.

Lupin shrugged, and handed it over, looking more sorry than he had when he denied her earlier.

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, Harry and Ginny used Hedwig to exchange messages fairly regularly. Ginny sent him a message through Lupin's owl telling him when it would be safe to send messages. The next day, Harry had stayed up quite late, and sent Hedwig with instructions to go directly to Ginny's room. Early the next morning, he would open his window, and Hedwig would return with a message from Ginny.

They continued this pattern a few times a week, and each message Ginny sent told Harry the next time she would expect Hedwig. To Harry it seemed like an odd exchange. Ginny's script would stretch across the parchment in an obviously rushed attempt to put down as much information as she could before Hedwig had to leave. Ginny was giving him the information he needed to understand what was happening in his life, and the best she got in return was some friendly letters from him.

After the first two messages, she seemed to get through all the information that she'd heard in the last two weeks. Most of the stuff seemed fairly unimportant to Harry, and he would have assumed much of it even if no one had told him.

It was clear that despite their defeat at the Department of Mysteries the Death Eaters were gathering and planning something. There had been no other sign of Voldemort's return, and no attacks by or even sightings of Death Eaters. Nonetheless, there had been several disappearances of people who had been accused (but not proven) Death Eaters.

On the testimony of a number of members of the Order, and a few uncooperative Death Eaters, the Ministry of Magic silently threw out its accusations of guilt against Sirius Black. He was ruled to have died in the Department of Mysteries, leaving all his personal possessions to Harry. They were to be held in another vault at Gringott's until Harry turned seventeen. This was little consolation to Harry, who would have given his own vault to have Sirius back.

The more delicate matter was that of the property belonging to the Black family which Sirius had never officially inherited or taken possession of. Apparently Lupin had argued for some time before the Wizengamot that, due to the amount of time which passed since the death of Sirius' mother, an ancient salvage law should be in effect and all inheritance should be ignored. That would mean that all property should be the rightful property of whoever could claim it.

Narcissa Malfoy had argued very strongly against him, and had demanded that the Wizengamot supply a complete listing of all property held by the Black family and where it was being held, so she could formally demand possession of it.

Neither Lupin nor Narcissa was able to wholly convince the Wizengamot. In the end a compromise (suggested by Dumbledore) was struck. Narcissa could take possession of all Black family property that she could locate in the next thirty days. Narcissa was enraged. She'd immediately seized a number of (mostly empty) vaults at Gringott's and demanded the Ministry locate and deliver the house elf named Kreacher to her. What she'd really wanted was Grimmauld Place, but even with Kreacher telling her exactly where it was, neither she nor any Ministry official would ever find it in thirty days. She had just less than two weeks left.

Assuming that Dumbledore wasn't going to hand 12 Grimmauld Place over to her, the Wizengamot had declared that it would become the property of the first person who could prove both a legitimate claim to the Black family estate and the ability to take ownership of the house. Ginny had suggested that Tonks do it, but she said that Lupin had convinced her not to. It seemed as if the Order preferred no one even knowing that Grimmauld Place still existed.

Finally, the Dementors of Azkaban had revolted (which was not terribly surprising for most members of the Order), and nearly all of the Death Eaters had escaped. It was suspected that Voldemort himself had shown up to command the Dementors. By itself, this news was not terribly surprising. The surprising part was who did not escape. Three prisoners died fighting the small number of Aurors stationed on the island, but one prisoner never even made it out of his cell: Lucius Malfoy. The Aurors searching the island after the Dementors left found him sealed in his cell, the hinges and bolt actually melted into place. It took them two hours to simply open the door.

Harry found this surprising. At the graveyard in Little Hangleton, Lucius seemed to be held in more importance than most of the Death Eaters, yet he was left behind. By the next letter, Ginny had found an explanation. Snape had been called to Grimmauld Place the night they'd found out about Lucius, and he'd left angrily. After that, no one had seen him outside Hogwarts castle.

Harry saw what Ginny was suggesting. Snape was upset because Lucius was in prison. That alone seemed to justify Voldemort's actions, though it suggested quite a bit more. Snape was supposedly spying on the Death Eaters. If he'd been getting information from Lucius Malfoy, then there would be little that Snape could do, and if Voldemort found out that he'd been using Malfoy, then he'd have every reason to punish him. It all seemed to fit.

However, after the first few messages, there wasn't much more to tell. The Death Eaters were keeping quiet. Voldemort had disappeared again. The Order was simply waiting for any sign that might tell them something was about to occur.

The next messages contained less information about the Death Eaters and more about the Order. She told Harry about how much Moody distrusted her, and how Ron and Hermione had been almost inseparable. Her messages seemed more relaxed, and her writing was more friendly, and less like she was doing a job.

She told Harry about Fred and George's store and how they'd been trying for weeks to try and find a way to open a small, temporary shop at Hogsmeade for the weekends when Hogwarts students would visit the village. Molly had been enthusiastic in her opposition to the idea. She'd been forced to admit that the twins were doing quite well, but she didn't like the idea of them encouraging the Hogwarts students.

Ginny also told Harry about stumbling upon Bill and Charlie talking in the parlor. She'd been trying to listen in on as many conversations as she could, and had been caught off guard when she realized they were talking about her. After hearing about the message Harry had sent her, they were trying to gather enough money to buy her a Nimbus 2001, with the new Nimbus 2002 coming out, many shops were dropping the price on the older broom. Ron apparently didn't even mind. He was willing to support anything that might help Gryffindor win the Quidditch Cup.

Harry wondered several times if it was even necessary to spend so many nights awake and waiting for the time when he could send Hedwig to Ginny. He'd even considered suggesting they cut back on the frequency of the messages, but when it came down to actually writing it, he'd decided it wasn't really worth asking. What would happen if Ginny did have information she needed to give him? Would he really want to wait five or six days to get it?

Each time he got a new message from Ginny, he considered it, but he never even convinced himself to ask Ginny about it. Someday there will be something important to say, he convinced himself, and neither of us will want to wait to let the other know. And yet, he hoped there would never be a need for that, and looked forward to the next night when he would stay up past two o'clock in the morning to send Hedwig out with another message.

* * *


	5. An Unexpected Warning

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 5 - An Unexpected Warning**

* * *

The day was sunny and warm, and even if Petunia had not ordered him to pull all the weeds from her flower beds, Harry still would have wanted to enjoy the weather. He found that the sun cheered him up even though he was doing chores.

Arthur had stopped by the previous day to check and see that Harry was doing alright. His appearance had meant that Harry would not be doing any work that day, as the Dursleys would be suspicious that "those freaks" would linger and spy on them. However, that also meant that the following day, today, he'd be expected to do anything that he might have done the day before.

On the whole, however, the Dursley's had treated him better than previous years. Harry knew it was mostly out of fear of him or of anyone taking notice of the odd visitors they had every few days. He still did much more work than Dudley ever did, but less than he did in the years before Hogwarts.

He felt a shadow passing behind him and turned to look, but saw no one. He returned to his work, remembering de-gnoming the Weasley's garden. He smiled even as a cloud passed between him and the sun, dimming the colors of the flowers. Harry hadn't remembered seeing even the slightest cloud, and he looked up to inspect the sky.

There were no clouds. Instead, it seemed that the world had dimmed. He stood and looked around, hoping to see anyone else noticing the same thing. He could see someone across the street watering their lawn, oblivious to the change. One of the boys who lived down the street was riding by on his bicycle, similarly ignorant to the growing haziness.

What was happening? Surely this had to be magic. Could the Muggles not see it?

Then things started changing. Harry could hear the whispering of voices and could see shadows moving around him. Everywhere he looked, he saw them. He walked to the back of the house, where it was shaded and more private. He closed his eyes and the shapes became clearer.

There were two of them. They were both walking, and he saw them as if projected into his mind. Their voices were soft, but they were becoming much clearer, and soon Harry started to pick up various words. When he heard a feminine voice saying the word "Master" he stiffened.

It was Bellatrix and Voldemort. This was another vision.

The two figures had stopped by a doorway. One was taller than the other, and though he was having trouble seeing any detail at all, he could _feel_ that it was Voldemort. This was confirmed when he heard the figure speak, much louder than before.

"Well?" he asked in a harsh voice, "do you have any news for me?"

"It's all prepared," responded a softer, female voice. He recognized it immediately as Bellatrix Lestrange.

"When do they return?"

"In three days."

Harry listened closely. He could still hear birds chirping and the occasional child ride by on their bicycle. This must be what the Order has been trying to discover.

"How?" Voldemort asked. He sounded more curious than commanding.

"The Floo, we expect," Bellatrix replied. "They have a daughter who is not more than five years out of Hogwarts. They are visiting her in London. We shall have someone at the Leaky Cauldron."

"And the daughter?" Voldemort asked as he opened a door, revealing a room filled with wizards sitting at tables surrounded by what looked to be stacks of books.

"A clerk," the woman responded with undisguised disdain. "She may be with them, or she may remain in Muggle London."

"A clerk," Voldemort laughed. "No matter. He's our target, not some _clerk_."

"What do you think you're doing back here?" a shrill voice called out.

Harry jumped up and reached for his wand, but when he opened his eyes he saw only Petunia in an apron, looking cross.

"Don't you tell me you're done with those flowers," she said.

Harry must have looked very confused and agitated, because Petunia backed away and kept staring at Harry's hand which was already closed on his wand.

"Calm down, now," she said in a placating tone. "Take your time. You can finish up tomorrow. Why not just go have a lie down and we'll see if you're feeling better at supper?"

Harry let go of his wand. "Yeah..." he said as he tried to memorize what he just saw. "I think I will." Then he ran for the door as quickly as he could. He needed to write it down before he forgot any of what he just saw.

When he got to his room he closed his door and locked it, and then immediately flipped over a piece of parchment he had been writing Potions notes on and started writing down what he could remember of the conversation.

He started thinking of the previous vision he'd had. Voldemort had figured out that he was listening eventually. Or had he known all along? He must not have known, or he would have let Harry see everything he did. He must have made Harry forget the rest of it after he found out. Of course he wouldn't remember that.

Did Voldemort know this time? Harry was certain that there weren't any breaks in his memory, and Voldemort surely wouldn't have revealed his plans to Harry. If he did know, would he change his plans?

It didn't matter, Harry decided. He had to tell the Order. What would he tell them? That he was seeing Voldemort even when he was awake now? He also didn't want to reveal the fact that he feared that Voldemort was getting past his Occlumency training. He made up his mind, and started writing a letter to Hermione.

_Hermione,_

_I've had another vision. I'm sending this to you because I know I can trust you to make sure that everyone knows about this, not just a few members of the Order._

_Something is happening in three days. I think Voldemort is planning to attack someone. He mentioned a man, and his daughter, and probably at least one other person._

_They didn't say who it was. The daughter left Hogwarts within the last five years, and she works as a clerk in London. I think she might live in Muggle London as well. Her parents probably live farther away._

_There will be a Death Eater at the Leaky Cauldron that day. I don't know who, but it sounded like they were setting a trap._

_Harry_

He folded the note and Obscured it and set it aside. Then he started on a second note.

_Ginny,_

_I had another vision not long ago. As you'll probably see, I'm telling Hermione about it as well. You can find out the rest of the details from her without the need to act surprised._

_This vision was different. It was weaker, if that makes sense. It was like I was seeing shadowy ghosts instead of the figures of my dreams. The voices were like whispers and I had trouble hearing everything they said._

_And I was awake._

_I couldn't stop it, but I couldn't see it clearer, either. I had to close my eyes to see anything more than shapes. I don't know what this means. However, I don't think he knows I saw it._

_I hope the Order can stop him. Tell them to be careful._

_Harry_

_P.S. I'd like to hear whatever the Order is up to, but be careful. I expect the next three days to be a little tense._

He took the second letter and Obscured it like the first (into a page of coupons for chocolates). At first he was just going to cast a simple invisibility charm on the letter, but he remembered how easily Moody's magical eye (despite being in Barty Crouch's head) had seen him in his Invisibility Cloak. He looked through his Transfiguration book from the last year looking for something that might work.

He eventually stumbled upon a spell which looked promising. Moody's eye could see invisible things, but perhaps it wouldn't catch something which was turned transparent. He tested the spell on a couple odd scraps of paper until he was sure he wouldn't start the letter on fire, and after the charm was cast he was quite proud of the results. You could still see the letter, but it looked more like a bit of discarded clear wrapping than a letter. Harry hoped that Moody wouldn't notice it, and that Ginny would be able to figure it out.

"Try to be careful with Ginny's. If she's alone, make sure she gets it. If she's not, don't let anyone see you give it to her," Harry said. He hoped Hedwig understood the directions.

Hedwig simply hooted proudly, and with a few beats of her wings she was speeding off to Grimmauld Place.

* * *

"Hermione! Hedwig's Here!"

Hermione stood up immediately, and Ginny mirrored her.

"Does she have a letter with her?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, it's for you," Ron said, "but she won't let anyone take it from her."

"It must be something important," Ginny said.

"Ron, get Lupin. I'll see what Harry says."

Ginny followed Hermione down to the kitchen where Hedwig was perched on the handle of a large teapot. Kingsley Shacklebolt was sitting at the table trying to coax her to give him the letter. As soon as Hermione and Ginny strode into the room, Hedwig took flight and soared toward them. At the last moment, Hedwig turned and circled the room, dropping a folded piece of parchment which Hermione caught.

She immediately took it over to the table and opened it. Kingsley already had his Obscuring Orb out, and the parchment was transfigured back to Harry's letter immediately, as everyone crowded around the two of them.

Hedwig circled the room a second time, landed on Ginny's shoulder, and nipped at her ear as she tried to read Harry's letter.

Kingsley stood up. "We have to tell Arthur right now. Three days! It will probably happen at night." He walked to the fireplace and searched for Floo Powder.

Lupin and Moody walked into the kitchen together. Hedwig hooted and flew out the window.

"Well?" Moody growled. "What is it this time? Perhaps some suggestions for who the Gryffindor Beaters should be since those two jokers left?" he said with a suspicious glance toward Ginny.

"I wish it was," Hermione said solemnly. "Ron, you'll want to read this."

Her reaction caught Moody's attention and he shuffled as close as he could and started reading the letter.

"Shacklebolt," he said quietly, "can we find them in three days?"

Kingsley stood up. "A Hogwarts student who's now a clerk? There might be any number of them, but it's not impossible," he said. "At least, not if I could find any bloody Floo Powder!"

Lupin ran over and took a small jar from the mantle and offered it to Kingsley. Soon, Arthur's head was in the fireplace, and Moody, Kingsley and Tonks were all talking to him.

Hedwig flew through the window again and perched on Ginny's shoulder once more. Ginny wasn't sure whether she was happy that she didn't have to find a way to hide another letter, or disappointed that Harry hadn't sent anything to her. She looked at Hedwig, and realized that the owl was acting odd. Hedwig kept shifting one of her talons, making a strange rustling noise.

"What's wrong with Hedwig?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know she— ouch!" Ginny said as Hedwig nipped her ear again. "I was going to say that she liked me, but now I'm not so sure."

"She probably just wants treats," Ron suggested. Hedwig hooted.

Ginny walked to where they kept the treats, and put a couple of them in her hand. She held them up so Hedwig could eat them, and as she did felt something drop to the floor behind her. She looked and saw nothing. When she offered the other treat, Hedwig took it in her beak and dropped it on the ground.

Ron had been watching the exchange. "You don't suppose Hedwig's trying to say something is wrong with Harry?"

Ginny gave her brother a disbelieving look then started looking for the dropped treat. As her hands brushed across the ground, she felt something flat and clear laying near the treat. As her hand pinched it to pick it up off the ground, she found it was rough like parchment. It was another letter. She quickly stuffed it into her pocket. Hedwig hooted and picked up the owl treat, then flew over to the table and proceeded to eat her treat in front of Ron and Hermione.

Harry was so clever. Her letter wasn't invisible, so much as it was completely transparent. The room was soon filled with discussion of what could be done to prevent the attack, and whether it was real or a trick and if they could keep Harry out of it. While no one was looking, Ginny silently slipped off to her room. She hoped Harry hadn't used any charms that were difficult to remove.

She spent an hour searching through her spellbooks to find a spell that would remove the charm Harry had used on the letter. After trying quite a number of spells, she decided she needed to look somewhere else. She hadn't been able to find the spell Harry had used to make it transparent, but there was a whole library of spellbooks upstairs.

Then it hit her: Harry had found it, and he only had the books he used for classes at Hogwarts. The spell hadn't been in any of Ginny's books so there was only one possibility.

Ginny felt a little guilty about doing it. Everyone else was trying to find the family that Harry thought Voldemort would be attacking, and she was upstairs sneaking into Hermione's room to steal her Transfiguration text book so she could read a letter from Harry.

She told herself that she wouldn't have been that much help anyway, and that Harry needed her more than the Order did. She found the spell Harry used after only a few minutes, and just as she hoped, the book told her exactly how to remove it.

She understood why Harry was upset. He was starting to see things even when he wasn't sleeping. The situation was becoming serious, and he didn't seem to be able to stop the visions.

There was nothing Ginny could do to explain what was happening to him, but she could still do her part. She didn't think Hedwig had left yet. Ginny burned Harry's letter quickly and then dashed down the stairs to the kitchen where the rest of the Order had been since Hedwig had dropped off the news.

Hedwig was perched silently next to Pigwidgeon near the fireplace. As Ginny approached them, Hedwig gave a faint hoot. She was sure that Hedwig wouldn't leave without letting Ginny send a letter with her.

Ginny spent the rest of the night in the kitchen and parlor. She spent most of the time fetching food and drinks for the rest of the Order. Normally, she would have rather spent her time fighting the doxies which still inhabited many of the closets in the attic than doing such meaningless work while everyone else was doing more important things. Tonight was different. She overheard many conversations, often dawdling nearby after handing someone a mug of butterbeer or a mince pie.

She found the whole thing slightly exhilarating. She wanted to ask Hermione if this was what it felt like to help Harry on one of his adventures. Ginny, herself, had only been part of two adventures. The first one she'd spent unconscious and stuck in the worst nightmare of her life. It was a memory she would never be able to escape. The second seemed to happen so quickly she barely remembered much at all. To her it was a blur of fear and pain. She hoped that any adventures she'd have in the future would be more like this one, and less like the first two.

For the most part, few members of the Order even noticed her. The few that did simply thanked her for whatever food or drink (or parchment on occasion) she had brought them, and then return to whatever they were doing. Moody, however, became very quiet whenever she was around, and his magical eye seemed to seek her out whenever she was nearby. After a few trips to the small table he was sitting at, she decided it best to avoid him.

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place had turned into quite a busy place. Mundungus Fletcher had already left for Knockturn Alley to see what he could hear. Her father had shown up briefly, but had returned to the Ministry shortly afterward, and had been checking in through the fireplace every few minutes. Kingsley Shacklebolt had gone in and out the front door so often that he had borrowed Moody's Invisibility Cloak so the Muggles living nearby didn't get suspicious of a man who kept showing up and disappearing.

The twins were fetching things like Floo Powder and parchment and spare quills from Diagon Alley. Moody was making a list of all the people who had helped the Order in the past, since they were the most likely targets. Even Ron and Hermione had been put to work looking through lists of employees to compile a list of clerks.

It seemed that many of the Aurors were already out looking for families which fit the description Harry had given them. Professor McGonagall had shown up at some point with a list of all the female students who had left Hogwarts in the last five years. They had compiled a large list of all the students families and had started to cross off the ones who did not fit the description.

They hadn't decided what to do about the families who did actually fit the description. It was quite vague, and no one knew if hiding the families would actually prevent the attack.

Ginny made note of everything she could, and even took to writing quick notes to herself on scraps of parchment when no one was looking.

As it got later, the activity died down. It seemed that no one intended to give up until the next morning, but instead they simply wanted to be well rested. She was just about to retire for the night when she overheard Hermione talking to Molly.

"Hedwig is still around, so I'll just send it back with her," Hermione said as she gathered together a stack of papers.

"Yes, let him know that we'll take care of everything. He shouldn't be worrying about this,"

Moody, who was sitting nearby, suddenly took an interest in the conversation. "You're sending a message to Potter?"

Hermione turned to look at him. "Yes," she said hesitantly, "I thought it would keep him from worrying about us not getting the message or not believing him."

"Good point," Moody growled. "We don't want him to think we aren't taking this seriously. Should've sent a message to him hours ago!" Moody's magical eye searched the room stopping only momentarily on Ginny. "Go, send your message. Tell him it's going well. Nothing he can do about it from there. Though, if he wants to remember anything else, he should tell us the moment he remembers it."

Hermione frowned, but nodded and said, "Yes, sir." She walked past Ginny to fetch Hedwig from her perch by the fireplace. Ginny yawned and began walking to the stairs in front of Hermione. As she left the kitchen she looked back at Moody and saw him in a discussion with Kingsley Shacklebolt. His eye, however, was looking directly at her.

When she got to her room she immediately sat down and started writing a letter to Harry. She had quite a bit to say and she knew that Hermione's letter would probably be much shorter than hers.

She started off by mentioning how ingenious the delivery of the letter had been. She suggested that he start sending all his letters that way. So long as Hedwig would come directly to her, she would always be able to get the letters.

Next she started writing as quickly as she could about everything the Order was trying to do in order to find the family. She mentioned Hermione's letter, and how Moody had told her what to say.

She explained just how well the Order was doing. Out of the hundred or so girls who left Hogwarts, only thirty-one had been removed from the list. For those who remained, it was taking too long to track each of them down and either verify that they fit the pattern or remove them from the list. At first, it had looked promising, but as the night wore on, the names were being crossed out less and less frequently.

She tried to remain positive, but she knew it was less hopeful than Hermione was telling Harry it was.

When she saw Hedwig fly through her open window and land on her desk with Hermione's letter, she knew she had to finish up.

She quickly Obscured the letter (into a long article about the dangers of storing wands in iron cauldrons) and was handing it to Hedwig when she heard footsteps approaching her door. She suddenly realized that she had forgotten to put a locking spell on her door when she came in. She couldn't reach her wand, and she'd never reach the door in time.

Hedwig seemed to understand the urgency, and was already flying toward her. Ginny held out the letter and Hedwig snatched it out of her hands as the door creaked open.

"Ginny, did you borrow my Transfiguration book?" Hermione asked as she poked her head in the small room.

"Hermione!" Ginny called out, a little louder than she'd intended. Hermione was already walking walking into the room when Ginny turned to face her. "Yeah, I did. I was... er... I was—"

"Was that Hedwig?" Hermione interrupted with a questioning look.

Ginny's eyes opened wide. "Er— What do you mean? Didn't you have Hedwig?"

Hermione looked dubious. "I _did_ have Hedwig. I sent her off with a note a while ago."

Ginny tried to look innocent, but she could feel the blood drain from her face. Hermione looked hesitant to do anything, and instead simply stood near the door staring at Ginny, as if waiting for her to say something more. When Ginny remained silent, Hermione pulled out her wand, and for a moment seemed locked in some struggle about what to do with it. Suddenly she turned and pointed the wand at the door and cast a locking spell, followed by a silencing spell.

"That _was_ Hedwig, wasn't it?" Hermione said with a disapproving look.

Ginny searched for something to say. She knew she could come up with an explanation. It didn't have to be perfect.

"Don't blame Hedwig," she said quickly. "She just wanted some owl treats, so I gave her some. She's been working really hard recently." Ginny hoped Hermione would believe the guilt in her voice was due to spoiling Hedwig.

"You gave her a plenty of treats this afternoon," Hermione said flatly. She didn't sound like she was believing Ginny at all.

"Well... They fell on the floor, didn't they!" Ginny said as she tried to push her quill away from the rolls of parchment in front of her.

"Ginny, Hedwig is an owl. She _eats mice_. I don't think she would care if her treat landed on the floor." Hermione sat down on Ginny's bed and stared at the floor. "You wrote a letter to Harry, didn't you?"

Ginny didn't know what to say. She was glad Hermione wasn't looking at her. She didn't want to lie to her friend, but it was the only way.

"I... er—" she began, but stopped when Hermione turned and gave her a look which seemed almost to convey pity.

"Before you try to tell me you weren't sending him a letter, you might consider putting your Orb away.

Ginny looked down to hands, and to her horror, she was still clutching her Obscuring Orb in her left hand. With a angry shout she shoved it back into a drawer of her desk and then collapsed onto her desk with her arms covering her head.

Hermione remained silent while Ginny seethed with anger at both Hermione and herself. Finally, she sat back up, and looked at Hermione with narrowed eyes.

"When did it become a crime to send owls to Harry?" she asked, though it sounded more like a challenge. "You sent him one. Or am I the only one who's forbidden?"

Hermione leaned back against the headboard of Ginny's bed, stretching her legs out on the bed.

"I didn't say there was anything wrong with sending Harry letters," replied Hermione calmly. "You are acting rather suspicious, though. Why did you need to borrow my book, again?" Hermione reached over and picked up the book which had been lying open on Ginny's bed.

"I was trying to get a head start on preparing for the O.W.L.'s," Ginny answered. She looked away when she realized she hadn't even been able to convince herself she was being honest.

"Right," replied Hermione. "I'd say that you either wanted to... 'Clarify Murky Water' or 'Turn an Object Transparent'." Hermione paused and appeared confused for a moment. Suddenly her jaw dropped and she looked at Ginny.

"That's why Hedwig was behaving so odd. It was transparent, wasn't it?" Hermione said with a smile.

"Wasn't what?"

"The letter Harry sent you. If he would have used an invisibility charm Moody's eye would have caught it, so he made it transparent!"

There was no more point in denying it, so Ginny merely nodded.

Hermione looked like a proud parent. "That was quite clever. We never even went over this in class. He's been improving a lot lately. Can I see the letter?"

"I burned it already," Ginny said.

"You burned it?" Hermione looked shocked. "After Moody specifically told you to keep them so he could look at them?"

"Well I forgot, didn't I?" Ginny replied rebelliously.

Hermione was starting to look very parental. She sat up and looked Ginny in the eye.

"Harry sent you a letter charmed to get past Moody, you burn it before anyone else gets a chance to look at it, and now you're sending Harry a response without letting anyone know." Hermione stood up and walked over to Ginny. "Ginny, what have you and Harry been talking about?"

Ginny stood up to face Hermione. She was shorter than Hermione, but not by enough that Hermione felt like standing that close to an upset Ginny Weasley.

"It's none of your business!" Ginny shouted.

"It's Harry," Hermione said softly. "He's the closest thing I have to a brother. And he's not the only one I'm worried about."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny asked, her eyes narrowed.

"A few years ago, you would have done anything to get Harry to talk to you. What would you have told him to have that?"

Ginny looked insulted. "Times change."

Hermione looked at the floor. "I just don't want you to be disappointed if he's only talking to you because he needs someone to talk to."

Ginny kept staring at her. "I'm just trying to be his friend. It's not like I can do much to help the Order, but Harry could always use an extra friend."

"Have you told him any secrets?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Ginny replied simply. Hermione let out an angry sigh, but Ginny continued before she had a chance to say anything more.

"I've told him about how Fred and George have been trying to find out when the first Hogsmeade trip is so they can have someone cover their shop while they sell Wheezes to the students."

"Well, that's not exactly—"

"I've told him about how Bill and Charlie are saving money to buy me a Nimbus 2001."

"Oh. I didn't know—"

"I've told him about the Tracking Charm Mundungus put on mum's shoes to tell him when she is nearby so he can leave if he needs to."

"So that's how he does that!" Hermione exclaimed. "But that's not what I meant. Have you told him anything that Moody wouldn't approve of?"

"Mad-Eye Moody," Ginny scoffed. "He wouldn't approve of me telling Harry what his own name was. I don't think he's ever trusted me. You saw what he did last week. I suppose I did tell Harry that Moody was an old, paranoid git." Ginny paused to think, then continued, "I guess that's not really a secret, but I don't think dear Alastor would approve, either."

Hermione laughed and seemed to relax. Ginny felt herself relax as well. Perhaps this would work out. Hermione didn't seem ready to run off and tell anyone that Ginny had been secretly talking with Harry.

"So you haven't been telling him about any of the meetings we've had?" Hermione asked. She was trying to sound serious, but was still smiling.

Ginny smiled. "I told him about how you stare at Ron during the meetings —only when he's not looking, of course."

"I do not!" Hermione shouted. She tried to look scandalized, but her face was already reddening in embarrassment.

"Not when you think anyone's watching you," Ginny giggled.

"You're not answering the question!" Hermione declared in an effort to change the subject back to the one Ginny was trying to avoid.

Ginny paused. She was willing to lie to her friend, but she knew it would be more convincing if she didn't have to. "I don't tell him anything he shouldn't hear, and he doesn't tell me to keep any secrets the Order needs to know."

Hermione signed again. "I guess that'll have to be good enough." She closed her eyes as if her head hurt. "Though I _really_ wish you hadn't told him about Ron."

"I'll tell him not to tell anyone else," Ginny replied, still laughing about it. She grabbed Hermione's book from her bed and handed it to her. "We should be asleep. I think tomorrow will be busy."

Hermione nodded, still blushing, and made her way to the door. She removed the Locking Charm and the Silencing Charm.

"You're not going to tell Mad-Eye, are you?" Ginny pleaded.

Hermione frowned, then smiled. "No. Harry does need more friends. I won't lie to anyone for you, but as long as you make sure no one has any reason to ask, I don't see any reason to tell anyone else."

"Thanks Hermione."

Hermione opened the door, but quickly closed it. "—And don't you _dare_ tell anyone else that I stare at Ron. I know curses that make what happened to Marietta look like a birthday present."

"Good night, Hermione," Ginny laughed.

Hermione finally left. Ginny sighed, and collapsed on her bed. She'd done it. Hermione probably thought that she and Harry told each other things they shouldn't, but she wasn't going to tell anyone about it.

* * *


	6. A Captive Audience

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 6 - A Captive Audience**

* * *

Harry was glad to be woken up by the sound of Hedwig at the window. He'd just been drifting off when he'd heard the insistent tapping that told him he'd gotten his responses. He opened the window quickly, then shut it and pulled the curtains. Hedwig had brought two rolls of parchment as he'd expected, one noticeably longer than the first.

He knew immediately which one he was more interested in, but opted to read the smaller roll instead. He ignored the tightening of his stomach at seeing Hermione's name at the end of the note. The length of Ginny's note alone attested to the lack of sharing in Hermione's note.

Harry tossed the shorter letter on his desk. It had been every bit as devoid of information as he'd expected from anyone else. He tried to restrain his disgust with Hermione until he'd read what Ginny had to say.

Pacing back and forth across his room, Harry read the longer message. Hermione had simply done what she had been told to do. It still annoyed him that she didn't even try to help him out, but that wasn't important at the moment. Harry read quickly through the rest of the scribbled explanation Ginny had sent him.

When he'd finished the letter he collapsed onto his bed. He hadn't expected everything to have already been worked out, but he'd hoped they'd have gotten farther than they had. Over sixty families left, he thought. They couldn't all have daughters who were clerks in London, could they? There was still time. They had over two whole days to track down the right family.

Harry got up and read the messages again, looking for something completely different. When he'd sent his warning, he hadn't thought it would be difficult to figure out who was going to be attacked. His parents had known, so he'd assumed that had been the way the attacks would work. But as he read through Ginny's message he recognized something unusual. She'd been there, watching them work, and she was discouraged. Even more telling was the encouraging tone of Hermione's message and the knowledge that she'd been told what to write to him.

Harry crumpled both pieces of parchment in one hand and pulled out his wand.

"_Immolus!_" The ball of parchment erupted into bright orange flame and burned to ash before reaching the floor.

They didn't have any idea who the family was, and it didn't sound like they were making much progress. It must not be anyone in the Order, Harry decided. Who else would Voldemort target? Harry paced about his room hoping to think of some answer no one else had considered. Late into the night, he finally gave up and fell into a restless sleep.

When he awoke the next day, it was already late-morning, and Hedwig was restless in her cage. She must have sensed that something important was happening. Harry ignored his stomach and sat down at his desk. He wrote a quick note, suggesting a few of the less worthless ideas he'd come up with the previous night.

He'd sent Hedwig off with the note, not really thinking the Order needed the suggestions as much as he wanted an excuse for Hedwig to be at Grimmauld Place so Ginny could send back whatever news she could find.

The day passed slowly, and Harry had only a small lunch and enough food that evening to keep his stomach quiet. He tried to keep to his room as much as possible, constantly hoping that he'd see Hedwig flying towards him with news that they'd found and hidden the family.

Late that night, Hedwig returned bearing only a short message from Ginny. They hadn't discovered who the target was, and there were just over forty families left to check. They had convinced the Ministry to help, so at least there were more wizards available to help in the search.

Harry got another restless night of sleep, and spent the next morning avoiding the Dursleys. He'd heard Vernon complaining the day before about him trying to sneak out of doing chores. He'd sent off another note with Hedwig, simply asking for any news this time. He wasted as much time as he could before he walked down the stairs to find something to eat.

"Where were you hiding last night?" Harry's uncle asked as he saw Harry walk into the kitchen. Apparently he hadn't wasted enough time; Vernon still hadn't left. Harry tried to act like it was just a simple question as he found some of leftover bread and ham which might pass for a sandwich.

"In my room," he answered casually. "I've been feeling a bit off, lately."

"Not enough to stop you from eating our food, I see," Vernon replied. "And just enough to not do chores, I'll wager." Harry sat down ignoring the comment, as well as the toughness of his sandwich.

"He doesn't look too ill to finish pulling the weeds from the flower beds," Petunia suggested.

"Quite right," Vernon barked in delight. "Perhaps the fresh air will do the boy good. Dudley needs a haircut." He turned to Harry and shook his stubby finger at him. "You will finish the job you started, and if you use any of your... your... If anything funny happens, you'll be lucky to see the sun again."

After the Dursleys left, Harry reluctantly returned to the flower beds to finish pulling the remaining weeds. He could have worked faster, but he couldn't help but scan the horizon for Hedwig's return. He wasn't terribly worried about not finishing before Dudley returned.

The last time Harry had seen Dudley get his hair cut, Petunia had fussed over the smallest imperfection, stretching a simple haircut to well over an hour. The hairdresser had nearly fainted when she saw Harry's hair, and was quite relieved to hear that Harry wasn't getting his hair cut that day. He was quite certain that they wouldn't be back for some time.

He was right, and when he finished with the flower bed, he retreated to his room after raiding the kitchen for enough food for a small dinner. Hedwig still hadn't returned, so he spent his time practicing Occlumency and trying to simply will time to move faster.

Late that night, after and a cold but almost satisfying dinner, Hedwig returned bearing a single small scrap of cardboard. Harry had his Obscuring Orb ready, and a moment later he was pleased when the scrap grew and transformed into a short note. The handwriting, however, was not the flowing yet hurried loops of Ginny's handwriting, but a more refined script.

Harry felt his heart racing. It was from Lupin. He quickly read through the note, hoping that Ginny hadn't been caught spying for him. He finally reached the end of the message and gave a relieved sigh. Ginny had apparently not gotten a chance to send anything back. It didn't matter. Lupin said enough for Harry to figure out what was going on.

They were going to be watching the Leaky Cauldron. Bellatrix Lestrange had said that they were expecting them to Floo from there, so they would just have to watch everyone who used the Floo and follow them if they fit the pattern. It seemed like a decent plan to Harry, but the meaning was quite clear to him.

They still didn't know who Voldemort was planning to attack. Watching the pub was the only thing they really had to point them to the real target.

_They don't know who it is._

The words echoed in his head. He could imagine just how Voldemort would laugh if he knew the situation they were in. He'd given them the day of the attack and a description of his victims, and all they could do was sit around waiting for them to fall into Voldemort's trap and hoping that they would be able to save them.

There was also a request in Lupin's note. He wanted Harry to keep Hedwig with him the next day. If anything happened, if he saw or dreamed anything, he was to send Hedwig off to Lupin immediately.

Harry slept lightly and uneasily that night. He wanted to send Hedwig back to Grimmauld Place and hear what Ginny might say. He needed to know anything that Lupin wasn't telling him. Yet, he knew that Lupin was right. If he saw something, the Order would need to know it immediately.

He woke up the next day well before the sun rose. As he watched it peek over the rooftops of Little Whinging, he tried to think of what it was like at Twelve Grimmauld Place. Were they working furiously at trying to find a way to prevent the attack, or had they given up, putting all their hopes on watching the Leaky Cauldron?

Somewhere else, Voldemort was sitting in his dark hideout, preparing to attack an innocent family. The thought made Harry feel ill. Was this what it was like then his parents had been attacked? Had the Order done anything to protect them?

Harry skipped lunch altogether. He spent the day pacing and pretending to read books which he which he couldn't concentrate on. There must have already been an Order member at the Leaky Cauldron. The attack might be coming at any minute, or it might have already happened. Surely they would tell him if it had. They wouldn't keep that from him. Harry found his uncertainty depressing. He wished he didn't have to ask such things of his friends.

Ginny would tell him. She'd find a way. He didn't know why he was so certain, but he was. Knowing that, however, only made things worse. Someone would have told him if it already happened, so he had to assume it was still going to happen. He forced himself to join the Dursley's for dinner, but he ate quickly and returned to his room immediately.

The sun went down, and there was still no news. He'd assumed that the attack would happen at night, just like every other one he'd heard of. Still, he'd hoped that there would have been some message from the Order telling him what to expect. He couldn't stand the waiting any longer. He could feel the fear and anger and anxiety building in him.

He sat calmly on his bed and tried to empty his mind of emotion. He tried to forget everything and focus on simply relaxing and waiting for the night to pass, but he simply couldn't. His eyes kept glancing at the clock, watching the hours pass. His mind kept imagining Voldemort and a group of Death Eaters standing behind bushes, or a row of trees, waiting to attack some unknowing family.

Making things even more difficult was the fact that Harry hadn't slept well in days, and he'd slept better than he'd eaten. As midnight passed, he felt his eyelids getting heavier. There still hadn't been any news from the Order, and the attack must be happening soon. He didn't want to sleep. He didn't want to have to spend a night dreaming of all the horrible things that might be happening while he lay safe in his room in Little Whinging.

It got later and later, until Harry was forced to lay down to relieve the aching in his back and legs. He fought off sleep for as long as he could, but he was more exhausted than he had realized, and his body simply wouldn't listen to his desire to stay awake. He felt his eyelids flutter, and tried to reassure himself that any owl the Order sent would wake him. They would make sure that he knew. Ginny would make sure.

He turned to stare through his window into the starry sky. No nightmares tonight, he pleaded silently.

Harry's world dissolved to darkness, but instead of the peace and restfulness of sleep, he felt a strong pulling. It felt as if something had grabbed his shoulders and was slowly dragging him away from his bed. Harry tried to fight it. He tried to stop it or block it out, but it was pointless. He found himself standing on the edge of a small clearing surrounded by tall trees near a well-traveled road. There was a small two level cottage in front of him. A light was on near the front door.

"He's here," a high pitch voice hissed behind him.

He turned quickly to see where the voice had come from. Fear lanced through his chest as he saw Lord Voldemort standing in front of him, flanked by at least eight Death Eaters. Harry tried to run, but he couldn't. He tried to find his wand, but he felt weak and immobilized, as if he were paralyzed yet still able to stand.

The Death Eaters walked forward at a brisk pace, passing by him, and even through him. Voldemort followed them, passing right by him. It's just a dream, he reminded himself. Voldemort can't hurt me here. His fear was renewed when he felt himself being pulled toward the cottage along with Voldemort.

He tried fighting. He tried to turn away or simply stop. The force pulling him felt both gentle and irresistible, as if he didn't have any control over where he walked. The world was dim and cloudy, but he was almost certain that he couldn't even see himself.

He told himself that it was just a dream. He could block it like anything else. He forced his eyes closed and pushed all thoughts from his mind, focusing only on breaking whatever connection had opened to allow this. He needed to wake up and let the Order know what was happening. When he opened his eyes, he was dismayed to see the world around him even clearer and more real than before. He was quite close to the house, now, and he doubted resisting the vision would do any more than alert Voldemort to his presence.

He didn't know if Voldemort knew he was there. Perhaps he would be able to get some information that would help the Ministry and the Order find him. He followed Voldemort into the cottage where the Death Eaters had already restrained a man. He had dark hair worn the same way his godfather had. In fact, Harry noticed, he looked much like Sirius had, except without the haunted look he'd had from too many years spent in the company of Dementors.

He looked past Harry to Voldemort. His eyes opened wide and his mouth gaped open. "No. It's you. It can't be you..."

Voldemort was not paying attention to him. Instead he was inspecting the walls. "You were raised as a Muggle, so perhaps you never developed the proper respect."

A Death Eater walked into the room. He bowed his head quickly toward Voldemort. "There were two upstairs, Master. The wife and daughter. They've been tied."

Voldemort began looking about the room again. Harry realized he was searching for something. "You must be taught the price for interfering with the Lord Voldemort."

"Interfering?" the man exclaimed. "I've done nothing. I didn't even believe them when they said—"

"There was a time when Dumbledore could protect you—"

"Dumbledore?" the man asked. "I haven't talked to him in years! Nothing ever happened! He— He wouldn't let me— He made me promise not to—"

"Even his powers cannot protect you. Not here. Not from... this," Voldemort explained with an evil smile.

"I haven't done anything!" the man pleaded. "I stayed out of it. I just raised my family."

Harry noticed that this finally made Voldemort react. Voldemort glanced at the man, and then at a family picture over the fireplace. "Family," he sneered, as he grabbed the picture. "They are the only reason why you still breathe." He held the picture out for the man to see.

"_Incendio!_".

The picture he was holding in his hand erupted in a flash of white-hot flame. The photo and frame were quickly consumed, leaving only a puff of ash. The mans face became ghostly pale. Voldemort began summoning all the photos in the room, and with each photo he destroyed the man got more and more frightened.

"Please, I haven't done anything. My family hasn't done anything. We're innocent, I swear!" he begged as Voldemort held the last picture. Harry could see it was a picture of a girl about his age, waving. It must have been the man's daughter.

Voldemort just held the picture. Harry was surprised. He stopped. He wasn't burning it.

"Master," a voice called from the doorway, "we haven't found anyone nearby."

"Very well. It won't be much longer." Voldemort looked back at the man, and held the photo in front of him. "Innocence is nothing more than taking pride in being weak." The bottom of the frame blackened where he was holding it. Soon small flames were licking at the photo charring it. Voldemort turned back to the Death Eater at the stairs. "It's time. He's not cooperating."

"No! They've done nothing!" the man screamed. His gaze was locked on the burning picture. "I'll tell you everything I know! I do whatever you want me to do! Anything!"

It was too late. Harry could already hear the screams coming from the second level. He was numb with anger, fear, disgust and sadness.

"You?" Voldemort laughed. "You? What could you possibly do that would hold any value to me?"

"I don't know!" he pleaded. "I'll do anything! Anything you want..."

Voldemort leveled his wand at the man's chest. "Then die, cursing the name 'Harry Potter'." He turned to the lone Death Eater at the stairs. "Kill them both. We're done here."

The Death Eater climbed the stairs, and a moment later, Harry could hear screaming. Everyone was screaming. The wizard whimpered and begged Voldemort to stop until he was silenced by a flash of green light. At the same time, a splitting pain shot through Harry's scar, and he was plunged into darkness. When his vision returned, he sat up and realized that he wasn't dreaming anymore. It was still the middle of the night, and he was still in Little Whinging.

He looked out his window to the deserted Privet Drive. Somewhere a family had just been attacked. He knew it. It wasn't a dream and it wasn't a trick. Voldemort was out there. He wasn't waiting any more. Harry wondered if this is what it was like when it started the first time.

He had to get up. He had letters to send. He even got so far as sitting at his desk. But his hand wasn't working as it should. He felt exhausted and weak. In a haze, he stumbled back to his bed and collapsed. No letters would save them. The Order would know before Hedwig got there, anyway. He could write later.

* * *

When the morning sun crept across the horizon, it found Harry at his desk, writing purposefully. Hedwig was out of her cage and waiting patiently.

The first letter Harry wrote was to Remus Lupin.

_Remus,_

_Whatever the Order was doing, it wasn't enough. A family was attacked last night. I think they are all dead._

_I saw it. I was asleep and I saw it all. It wasn't like the dream with Nagini and Arthur. I couldn't stop it. I don't know who they were. The Ministry will probably know more than I do. Make sure they don't try and hide it._

_Harry_

He folded the note, and Obscured it. It became a card with flowery lettering saying "Sorry". Harry winced at the appropriateness. Then he started another letter.

_Ginny,_

_There was another vision. Voldemort attacked a family. I watched as he made a man beg for the lives of his family. I don't know how to fight him. I don't think it's possible. I tried to fight it, but nothing worked. I think it actually made the vision stronger._

_He didn't ask for anything. He didn't take anything. He just tortured and punished them for something they didn't even know about. I think the man did something that hurt or angered Voldemort, but he didn't seem to know what it was._

_Voldemort destroyed all the photos in the room. He burned them to ashes in front of the man. He said that the man's family was the only reason he was still alive. Then he tortured and killed them while he begged for their lives._

_Voldemort killed him, I'm sure, but I don't think he wanted to. He wanted him to suffer. I could feel it, and I think he knew it. I think he wanted me to see it._

_I only hope the Ministry doesn't try to hide this. I've sent a note to Lupin. I'm sure he already knows more about this than I do._

_Harry_

Hedwig left with the letters soon after that. Harry was left to watch the sun rise again over Little Whinging. His head throbbed, his eyes were dry and his muscles were weak with exhaustion. He needed to sleep but he could not get the images from the previous night out of his head.

He tried to lay down and at least get comfortable, but soon he drifted off to troubled sleep, haunted by thoughts of the pictures of his parents burning, and the dying curse of the man in his vision.

* * *


	7. The Search

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 7 - The Search**

* * *

Most of Grimmauld Place was awake before Ginny had finished reading Harry's letter the second time. She couldn't risk leaving it around to read later. She tried to remember everything she could, then burned it quickly and silently before heading down the stairs.

She'd worried about trying to explain why she had been awake, but her fears disappeared upon seeing most of the mansion's occupants crowded around the kitchen table, drinking an assortment of steaming liquids and looking quite somber. She reminded herself that she had to act as if she didn't know what had happened.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Bad news, Ginny," Ron said in a low voice. Bill was there, and he walked over to her, and knelt in front of her.

"It's a message from Harry," he said in a soft voice. "Something went wrong. Harry says that he saw a family get attacked last night. He— he watched it." Ginny hoped her performance was convincing enough. Bill's head dropped a little. "We haven't heard from Dad yet, but the clock says he's okay. The Aurors are checking on him. Hedwig just arrived with the message a couple minutes ago."

Ginny walked over to the table and read through the note quickly. There really wasn't much in it, but then, she had to admit that there really wasn't much that he could have said. No one really said much other than commenting about the note. They all seemed to be waiting to hear what Ginny's father might say.

They never found out, instead, they heard the sharp sound of the front door slamming and a the sound of footsteps approaching quickly. A moment later, Tonks, wearing her hair a spiky black mess, strode into the kitchen.

"Arthur isn't coming," she announced. A moment of panic swept over Ginny as the thought of her father being captured by Death Eaters slipped into her mind.

"No, sorry," Tonks apologized. "I shouldn't have said it like that. He's not coming back here yet. He's at the Ministry. He's got a meeting with Minister Bones. The Ministry is taking this seriously."

The tension in the room seemed to break and Ginny even detected a hint of celebration. Bill was even smiling. Ginny glared at him.

"Why is everyone happy?" she asked him reproachfully. "A family is _dead_."

"We know, Ginny," he replied, as the smile was quickly replaced with an almost mournful expression. "But this means they're willing to believe Harry. If everything goes well, we won't have to fight alone. The next time, we might be able to stop them."

"The next time?"

Bill gave her a strange look. "This is just the first attack. I know it sounds bad, but if it's anything like it was sixteen years ago, there will be more attacks than you or I will be able to feel sorry for. It's tragic, but it would be so much worse if no one believed Harry."

He gave her a weak smile, then turned and walked over to where Lupin and Moody were trying to organize whatever members were currently available. Ron and Hermione were both standing out of the way, but watching intently. No one seemed to even be paying attention to her.

Her stomach felt heavy. She'd only been thinking of the immediate situation. Harry had seen it, and Tom knew it. It wouldn't be the last time. Ginny remembered the little that Harry had talked about his nightmares. He'd never explained just how bad they were, but Ron had even admitted that he'd heard Harry having nightmares the year before.

The attack was over. It was early in the morning, and he was awake enough to write letters to the Order. Ginny knew exactly what she needed. No one would even notice. She quietly slipped back up to her room and returned a moment later, only to walk silently into the pantry and down the wooden steps to the store room.

It would be easy enough. She found the bright blue Dreamless Sleep Potion quickly. Carefully she filled most of the small vial she'd brought from her trunk. It should be enough for a good twelve hours of sleep. Next, she searched for the clay pot the Honeydraught was kept in. A touch of the pale yellow liquid would be enough to cover the bitter taste. She pressed a stopper into the vial, pocketed it, and returned to the kitchen. She'd send it back with Hedwig, and Harry could at least get a night of peace and rest.

However, as she looked around, she realized that Hedwig had already gone. In fact, all the owls were gone. They'd all been sent on various errands. She'd have to wait until Hedwig returned, or until Harry sent Hedwig that night as he was scheduled to. Ginny grabbed a piece of toast and sat in the corner trying not to look extremely disappointed.

Her eyes perked up as she saw Lupin stand and transfigure his robes into Muggle clothing. Lupin never left Grimmauld Place. A smile stretched across Ginny's face. With her father at the Ministry, Lupin was the next best person to send to talk to Harry. But how could she get him to take the potion? Lupin would suspect something if she simply gave it to him. She needed it to seem like someone else's idea.

Ginny searched the room for Hermione. She found her by the fireplace, placing more toast on a large platter. Ginny walked calmly over to her and started helping. Between pieces, she quickly slipped the vial from her pocket into Hermione's.

Hermione immediately stopped spreading butter on the piece in front of her and stared into her pocket. Ginny elbowed her.

"For Harry. Give it to Lupin," she whispered.

"No," Hermione whispered angrily as she turned back to the toast.

"The twins were talking about you and Ron last night—" Ginny started saying in louder voice.

"Shh! What is it?"

"Dreamless Sleep Potion," Ginny said quickly, hoping Moody wasn't paying attention to her. "Harry has horrible nightmares."

Hermione sighed. "Fine. But that won't work again, so don't try again."

Ginny smiled and kept stacking the toast onto the platter. With a frown, Hermione left and quickly walked up the stairs. She returned a moment later carrying a small cloth bag. Ginny watched as Hermione walked over to Lupin and talked quietly with him. She pulled the small vial out of the bag, and handed it to Lupin. Lupin looked at it, then gave Hermione a strange look.

She was already walking away when he slipped it into his pocket with a shrug. Hermione didn't say anything when she returned, and avoided making eye contact with Ginny the entire morning, only giving her a single warning look as she sat down next to Ron.

Not long after taking the potion from Hermione, Lupin nodded to the rest of the Order members and walked out of Grimmauld Place.

* * *

"Boy!"

Harry stirred as his dreams seemingly got worse. Vernon had joined Voldemort, and together they laughed over the charred remains of Harry's only pictures of his parents.

"BOY!"

Harry jerked awake. Vernon was slamming his heavy fist against his door, shaking Hedwig's cage. What was so important that Vernon would care if he were awake? He wasn't certain he wanted to find out what it was, but he was at least relieved for the interruption. He needed to sleep, but the dreams were preventing him from actually getting any rest.

"BOY! Wake up, you lazy little—"

"What?" Harry yelled back.

"One of your ... friends is here." Vernon yelled back. Harry was amazed how Vernon could yell and still be subtly insulting.

Harry pulled himself up and walked to the door. He should have known. Of course someone would come to see him. When he got downstairs, he looked around and found no one. He checked the kitchen and saw Petunia scowling at the table.

"Er... Vernon said—"

"He's outside." Petunia replied. Her voice was high-pitched and strained.

"Outside? I was sleeping. You couldn't have sent him to my room?" Harry asked.

"And let another one of them inside?" Petunia screeched. "Are you mad?"

Harry shook his head and strode out of the kitchen toward the door. He opened the door and saw a slightly bewildered but mostly disgusted Remus Lupin.

"Don't even think of letting him in this house!" Vernon bellowed from the stairs.

Harry was too tired to argue, so he simply stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

"Come on, we'll go behind the house," he told his former professor.

"They told me that they didn't want me to turn their fireplace to rubble," Remus said. "Why would I do that?"

"The real question is why wouldn't you want to do that," Harry replied, attempting to lighten his own mood with humor. "Maybe if you spent more time around them you'd have more desire to see parts of their house in rubble."

Lupin smiled and nodded. "Perhaps you're right."

They walked silently to the rear of the small house. Harry looked around to see if anyone else was around. It was still fairly early in the morning and Harry could see no one. There was an odd moment of silence as Harry waited for Lupin to start talking.

"You look exhausted."

Harry slumped against the house and slid to the ground. "I didn't sleep well," he said with a wan smile. He paused and looked at the ground before continuing. "Are you going to tell me anything about what happened last night, or are you just here to ask more questions while keeping me in the dark?"

"Harry," Lupin started, "I can't tell you anything about what happened last night."

"Yeah," Harry said sullenly, "I figured that."

"I can't tell you because we don't know anything," Lupin responded, sounding apologetic.

"What are you here for, then?" Harry asked lethargically. "You've interrupted an amazing string of nightmares that I really should get back to."

Lupin gave him a strange look. "That, I believe, I can do something about." He handed Harry the small vial of a bluish liquid. Harry held it gingerly, as if the mere touch of it would put a bad taste in his mouth. He'd taken one too many potions to look forward to trying whatever Lupin had thought might make him happier.

"It's Dreamless Sleep Potion. I'm almost certain," Lupin said, seeing Harry's reaction. "I don't know why Hermione thought of it, but now that I see you, I'm glad she did."

Harry clutched the small bottle as his body slumped in relief. He could sleep. He felt better just holding the liquid. But how had Hermione known? As he looked at the vial, he saw a pair of letters faintly etched into the bottom: 'G.W.'

"I'll have to find a way to thank her," Harry said faintly.

"She said that she wasn't the one you should be thanking. Though, I don't know why you should be thanking me."

Harry pocketed the potion. "She probably thought she was returning a favor." He slowly stood up. "I think it's time for me to get some sleep. I trust when you get any information you'll try your best to tell me only the really worthless parts."

Lupin pursed his lips. "We aren't trying to keep things from you Harry. We aren't—"

"You're a horrible liar," Harry interrupted. "Or perhaps I'm turning into a Legilimens," he finished with a smirk.

Lupin looked uncertain of himself. "We aren't sure if what you saw really happened." Anger flashed in Harry's bloodshot eyes.

"Harry," Lupin said calmly as he started pacing, "It's not the first time." Harry wondered if he was just trying to put some distance between himself and Harry's anger.

"In the past, when the Death Eaters attacked, they would always conjure the Dark Mark. They wanted everyone to know what they had done." He stopped and looked at Harry. "If anyone had seen the mark, Kingsley would know. He would have told us."

Harry tried to think of an explanation. "It just happened last night. Maybe they haven't heard the news yet." Lupin gave him a dubious look. "One of the Death Eaters said that no one was around. Maybe there it was there, but no one was close enough to see it."

"Then why attack them?" Lupin asked. "When Voldemort attacked someone, the whole point was to make sure everyone knew it happened because they angered Lord Voldemort. With this attack, you're the only one who knows."

"It wasn't like... like Sirius," Harry choked. "This was real."

"I believe you. It all fits. All the visions pointed to something happening last night, but if anyone saw anything they would have reported it." He looked as frustrated, as he continued, "I don't know where to tell them to look! We don't even know who was... involved."

"But you are looking?"

"They started looking late last night, and assuming the worst. Arthur was adamant about it. He had all the Aurors out trying to find anyone who fit the description. Do you remember anything from the dream that could help? Anything?"

Harry tried to think back. He could remember the vision well enough, but he had trouble thinking about anything other than the photos burning and Voldemort's command as he ordered the family killed. Harry understood now that he'd been meant to see it. Voldemort wanted Harry to be watching. He didn't want to tell Lupin about that. He didn't want anyone else to know how Voldemort was tormenting him through the link they shared. It was much easier if everyone just thought that Harry occasionally saw things.

"I didn't see all that much," Harry said truthfully. "There was a father, a mother, and a daughter. I didn't see anyone but the father. I only heard the others being..."

"Did the wizard say anything that might help?" Lupin asked, trying to steer Harry away from the man's family.

"He said..." Harry closed his eyes to think. "He said that he had wanted to help Dumbledore, but Dumbledore didn't let him." Harry leaned against the house for support and looked at Lupin. "But he must have. Voldemort told him he'd interfered with his plans. He must have done something. Voldemort really hated him."

"Well, that's a start. He couldn't have been a member of the Order or an Auror. But it will probably help. I should go. That may be just what we need to find them," Lupin said, looking a little more hopeful.

Harry turned toward the back door and searched his pockets for the potion.

"Hold on," Lupin called out, causing Harry to turn to him. "Did you tell Ron or Hermione anything about this?"

Harry was grateful that he didn't have to lie. "No," he replied, "I figured you would tell them."

"I did," Lupin said. "They read the letter only minutes after I did." He turned to leave, but stopped again. "I was wondering... well... Hedwig. She didn't come directly to me. She came in from the kitchen."

Harry tried to act like he wasn't lying to an old friend. "She probably flew in through the parlor. I've told her to always use that window."

"I was in the parlor waiting for word from Arthur" Lupin said with a smile.

"Maybe she got lost—"

"Hedwig has never gotten lost." He paused and looked in Harry's eyes. "I don't mind if you told them. We're just trying to protect you."

"Well you're doing a superb job so far," Harry replied. Lupin looked away immediately. Then he turned and started to walk off.

"Look. I'm sorry," Harry apologized. "I know you all mean well, but you can't protect me from this."

Lupin looked back dejectedly. "I know," he replied. As he walked away he paused to look back at Harry. "Things are going to get worse soon. We'll be in touch." Harry watched him walk down the street. Eventually he turned down an alley.

Harry went back inside and quietly sat in a corner of the kitchen eating a few pieces of toast. He toyed lightly with the small bottle of blue liquid. He wondered how long it would make him sleep. Hours? He tried to remember how much Madam Pomfrey had given him. Maybe if he drank the whole thing he could sleep long enough for the family to be found. He dreaded waiting for the Ministry to find them. Until then, he felt somehow responsible for them. He was the only one who knew they were attacked.

Harry heard heavy footsteps approaching and looked up to see Dudley enter the room. Vernon was close behind him.

Dudley looked at him. "You look like death."

"Thanks. You look like gluttony."

Dudley narrowed his eyes and Vernon's jaw dropped. Harry had been too tired to exercise restraint this morning. He groaned to himself and waited for Vernon to start yelling.

"See here, I won't let you go around insulting everyone just because they aren't an abomination like you," Vernon said in a stern yet quiet voice.

Harry was surprised. He must be afraid that Lupin is still around. Harry decided to forego the effort of remaining diplomatic.

"I insulted him because he's a bullying git," Harry replied.

Vernon's face was red with anger. "You— I—" he sputtered. Harry rolled his eyes and it only made him more angry. "Perhaps you'll cool down after you've spent the morning pulling the weeds from the flower garden."

"I did that three days ago," Harry replied.

"The windows need cleaning, then!" Vernon shouted.

"Maybe tomorrow, I think I'll just sleep," Harry said. He couldn't help the smile spreading across his face.

"Sleep?" Vernon barked. "What makes you think we'll just let you sleep all day?"

"This," Harry said as he held the Dreamless Sleep Potion in his hand.

Vernon pushed Dudley behind him, "You wouldn't dream of poisoning us! That old man, Dribbledum, wouldn't have it! You'll go to prison for it!"

"His name is Dumbledore, and this—" Harry said as he popped the stopper off the vial and poured the contents into his mouth, "—isn't poison." He stood up and started walking to the stairs, hoping it wouldn't work too quickly. "It's actually rather pleasant, but I don't think you'll be able to wake me for the next few hours."

As he walked up the stairs he decided he'd have to ask Ginny where she got the potion from. It didn't have the vile taste that he associated with all the other potions he'd drank.

He got to his room, and layed down. Though he wasn't very worried, he tried to clear his mind of all emotions and thoughts. The potion was already making him feel groggy and his limbs were heavy. Soon he descended into blissful oblivion.

* * *

When he woke up, it was dark and very quiet. He searched for a clock and choked as he realized that it was past four o'clock in the morning. The sun would be up in two hours, and he'd slept through almost an entire day.

He had to admit that he felt quite rested, and he hadn't had any nightmares. His stomach, however, was empty and aching. Hedwig still hadn't returned, or if she had, she'd left again after failing to wake Harry up.

It was horribly early, but Harry couldn't imagine going back to sleep. He pulled on some clothes, grabbed his wand and quietly walked downstairs to the kitchen. The sleeping potion had been much more powerful than he had imagined. He hoped it was also stronger than Ginny had intended, but it had spared him from having to deal with the Dursleys, and had given him the sleep that he'd been needed.

Right now, he needed food. He carefully rummaged through the fridge, looking for a few spare sausages he'd hidden in a back corner a few nights back. They were still there. He put them on a plate, and poured himself some fruit juice. With a bit of hoping and a wave of his wand, the sausages were steaming hot on the plate.

"Brilliant," he whispered to himself. Magic was much quieter than trying to fry them up again, but the last time he'd tried it his potato had ended up more burnt than baked.

He sat quietly at the table eating what would be his breakfast. No doubt Vernon would be angry today, and Harry would have to try and avoid him yet again. It wasn't terribly difficult to accomplish. Vernon didn't like entering Harry's room anymore, so it was simply a trick of getting food to his room and finding something to occupy his time.

When he finished his meal, he gathered for enough food to get him through the day, and carefully walked back up to his room. Perhaps if he was quiet enough all day, the Dursleys would think he was still asleep.

And so Harry sat in his room through the hazy sunrise and rather dreary morning. The sun was a little brighter in the afternoon, but not even so much as to make Harry wish he could go outside. Hedwig still hadn't returned, leaving Harry without any way of contacting anyone else. Still, being stuck in his room seemed like a better choice than cleaning or repacking the closets.

The worst part was the uncertainty of what was happening with the Order. Harry forced himself to assume that the Order was working so hard on finding the family he'd seen attacked that they needed Hedwig to run messages for them. But if Hedwig hadn't returned and he hadn't heard anything, it could only mean that either something was still happening, or that they still hadn't found anything to tell him.

Sometime after Harry had finished eating the last of the cold food he'd brought up from the kitchen, he heard Hedwig tapping at the window. Harry opened it immediately, and Hedwig gave a few short hoots, before flying to her cage.

She wasn't carrying any letters at all. They hadn't found anything. Doubt crept into Harry's mind. Had he really seen anything? What if had all been a trick? What would the purpose be?

His mood soured and he flopped onto his bed. No one would ever believe him. Maybe that was the point. Voldemort would torment him by showing him horrible things, and he'd never know if they were real or not.

_It felt real._

Harry curled under his covers. There was no potion for him that night, but he wasn't concerned. The predictability and familiarity of his nightmares sounded more comforting than another day of uncertainty.

Harry was woken up the next morning by Hedwig hooting and rattling her cage. The sun was already up and flooding his small room with warm, but unwelcome light. He slowly sat up and walked over to Hedwig's cage.

"What do you want?" Harry asked. "I still don't have any owl treats." He opened her cage, and Hedwig hopped out onto his shoulder and gave his ear a friendly nip.

"Yeah, I still like you too, and I still don't have anything for you. You'll have to get something from Ron or Ginny."

He wished that he had anything for his owl. Hedwig had been quite busy, and though she seemed happy to perform her duties, Harry had long since run out of any way of rewarding her. However, he knew that Ginny and Ron both gave her owl treats, and either would be more than willing to reward Hedwig for him.

He walked to the window and opened it. A fresh morning breeze slipped into his room. The day looked cheerful, but Harry felt none of it. Each day that Voldemort's victims went without being found seemed darker and drearier to Harry. He looked outside, searching for any sign that today might be different than yesterday.

There were very few people around. It was still early, and Harry could mostly empty, except for a pair of businessmen standing across the street. One was reading the morning paper, and the other was drinking something dark orange from a glass. Both were leaning against a signpost, and looking as if it was natural for them to be there.

As he was trying to figure out what the men were doing, a delivery truck pulled up in front of Number Four. Hedwig hooted and nipped at Harry's hand. She was standing on the windowsill, stretching her wings.

"You'd better be off. See if Ginny has any news for me."

As Hedwig flew off, a middle aged woman in a wide hat stepped out of the delivery truck carrying a rack of milk bottles. Harry was just about to close his window again, when he heard a scuffling of feet followed by the sound of a number of glass containers shattering.

He peeked his head out the window to see the woman sprawling on the pavement, with a large amount of milk spilling back down toward the her face. She looked at the pavement and then the house. She finally shrugged, placed her hat back on her head, and walked up to the door. Harry could hear her knocking, followed by Vernon walking to the door and opening it.

"Oh, good morning," said the woman. "I'm dreadfully sorry, but I'm afraid I've made quite a mess of your walkway. If you'd be so good as to lend me a brush and a bucket of water, I'll clean it right up." There was silence for a moment, as Harry imagined Vernon seeing the mess, and then staring at the woman angrily.

"Very well," he said finally. "Wait here. I'll get you some help," he continued with false cheeriness.

In a moment Harry heard him pounding up the stairs, calling him.

"Boy! Boy, Come down here immediately! And bring a bucket of water!"

It was the perfect start to what Harry knew would be another dreadful day. He threw on some of Dudley's old clothes, filled a bucket with water, and was lugging it down the stairs a minute later. Vernon stopped him before he could open the door.

"Do a good job, and behave," he whispered, "—and be _normal_, or else..."

Harry opened the door and found the woman sitting on the steps outside the door examining her fingernails as if they were something new and wonderful. The door closed behind him, and the woman turned to look at him. She looked amused. Harry scowled.

"We'll get to work then, shall we?" she said smoothly.

Harry followed her out to the pavement, and handed her a brush. He took one for himself and immediately got down on his knees and started scrubbing the milk out of the cracks. The woman was looking at him and trying to imitate his work, but only succeeded in making herself look foolish.

Harry wanted to grab the brush from her and just do it all himself, but he made himself relax, and instead tried to start a conversation.

"You're not one to do much cleaning, are you?" he said, trying to sound friendly.

The woman didn't react, but responded in a low voice, "Don't turn around. There are two Aurors leaning against a signpost across the street."

Harry paused and remembered the two odd men he had seen. "Aurors? Why—"

"Just keep scrubbing," she said firmly. "They're here to keep an eye on you. Just try and act normally... Er— well, act like you'd think they'd expect you to act—wait... act like—"

Harry interrupted her, "How do you know..."

The woman looked up and winked at him. "Wotcher, Harry."

Harry stopped and stared at the woman. "Tonks?"

"Sorry about the mess," she apologized. "I had to get you away from the Muggles without making anyone suspicious."

Harry suddenly didn't mind the scrubbing anymore. He felt relieved and comfortable to be able to talk to someone in the Order in person.

"Well, it was a clever plan. Vernon loves assigning me chores."

"Right, well... I had planned to ask you to help me find all the addresses."

"Oh," Harry replied. "Well, riding around in a truck isn't nearly as fun as trying to scrub milk out of the pavement now is it? Myself, I like the idea of trying to scrape tar off the walkway, but milk will do in a pinch."

Tonks looked upset until Harry flashed her a quick smile.

"Well, it's not like I planned to chuck the jars," she said returning the smile. "These things just... happen to me."

"Of course," replied Harry. The patch of pavement in front of him had been thoroughly clean for a while. He moved on to a different patch.

"So why am I being watched by Aurors?"

"The family. We've found them," Tonks said simply.

Harry stopped scrubbing again. He felt saddened knowing that what he had seen was true, relieved that it hadn't been another one of Voldemort's tricks, and angered that the Ministry of Magic would send Aurors to spy on him.

"The Aurors are here for protection," Tonks added.

Harry doubted it immediately. "If they're helping, why all the secrecy?"

Tonks concentrated on her scrubbing. "It's complicated."

Harry began scrubbing a little more vigorously. "There here to watch me," he declared. "The Ministry thinks I might be involved in the attack somehow."

"Well—" Tonks began, but then frowned and nodded, "—yes, some of them. Most of us actually think you might be in danger."

"And you're disguised so they don't connect you with me."

"We can't let them think the Order is involved," she said firmly. "Arthur had to tell them the information came from you. They were going to investigate him and the rest of the Order."

Harry stopped scrubbing. They were trying to blame him again. He wasn't sure if he could take another year of it. He didn't know if he'd survive another year of it. Without thinking he massaged the back of his hand, as if the cuts from the previous year's detentions were still there.

"How many more times do I have to do this?" he asked quietly.

Tonks tried to give him an encouraging smile. "Once more, it seems."

Harry gave a frustrated sigh. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing," Tonks replied. "Or rather, whatever you like. Act naturally around them. They expect you'll find out about them, I hear. After all, you are the Great Harry Potter."

Harry looked at her, and found her smiling back at him. She looked suddenly younger. Then he noticed the hair peeking out from under her hat turning black and her eyes turning a bright green. He found himself laughing and it felt as if a great weight was lifting from his shoulders.

"If you talk to them, they'll want to ask you questions. Just be honest, Harry, but remember who they work for, yeah?"

Tonks face slowly changed back to the middle aged woman and she resumed her poor job of scrubbing.

"Is that all?" he asked when she hadn't said anything more.

"Oh," she said shaking her head, "Don't send any owls unless it's an emergency. The Aurors will be watching, and we don't know if they will intercept them. I'll be around, and Arthur will come by if we get worried."

"Right." Harry was beginning to feel frustrated again. The Order was still doing it. They weren't telling him anything. When he spoke again, his frustration was apparent.

"There's no more news than that?"

Tonks caught the tone of his voice. "I'm just here to make sure you knew the Aurors were here. Other than that I don't know any more than you do," she said while trying to look at the pavement. "They've been found. It's as bad as you said. Only there was no Dark Mark cast, so... some people refuse to believe it was Voldemort." She gave Harry a sympathetic look. "I'll try to get more information for you."

Harry moved nearer to her so he could finish the patch of pavement she had unsuccessfully been trying to clean the entire time.

"Well, next time, perhaps you could choose a disguise that won't require so much scrubbing. An old woman, perhaps. Or maybe someone walking some dogs." He stood up and picked up the bucket of water.

Tonks gave him her brush, and joined him as he walked to the door again.

"I'm sure I could find something more fun than that," she said. Her voice sounded higher pitched than it was before, and Harry turned to look at her. The hair under her hat was flaming red and small tendrils were curling down in front of her brown eyes and freckled nose. Harry froze and stared at her. What did she know?

"What is that supposed to mean?" Harry whispered. He tried to act confused but he didn't think it was working.

"We think Ginny likes a boy," she whispered back with a smile. Even though Harry knew it wasn't real, it felt nice to see a friendly face. Tonks gave him a funny look. "But she doesn't say who it is."

Harry shrugged. "It's not really a secret. It's Dean Thomas. She told us on the train home."

"Oh..." Tonk's face fell into a surprised frown, and with Ginny's features Harry discovered he found it slightly disturbing. Her face slowly melted back into the woman who had dropped the milk, with a slightly confused look. "You're certain?"

"She was pretty clear about it," he replied as he turned and started walking toward the door again. For some reason he didn't feel comfortable talking about it. "Ron didn't like it. She's probably just trying not to get him hacked off at her over the summer." Hoping to end the conversation, Harry knocked on the door. Seconds later, Vernon pulled the door open, smiling shallowly at Tonks, then giving Harry a suspicious glare.

"Done already, are you?" he said while trying to look over their shoulders to see if he approved of the quality of their job.

He looked at Tonks, who again looked like a middle aged woman. "I imagine you'll be off now," he told her shortly. Turning to Harry, he continued, "And so long as you've got the bucket out, you might as well clean the kitchen floor as well." Tonks had turned to go, but stopped and looked at Harry's uncle.

"He did a good job there. I think he deserves a day off."

Vernon was incredulous. "Do you?" he said as his eyes narrowed. "Well, it's none of your business, is it? Good day." Vernon started to close the door, but Tonks stopped the door gently.

"Actually, I think I'd like to step in."

"You'd like—" Vernon huffed. "You'll leave before you smash more jars on my walk!"

Harry had set down the bucket and looked across the street at the Aurors still leaning against the signpost. They hadn't seemed to taken notice of the situation.

"I think you should invite her in, Uncle Vernon," Harry said calmly.

"Really!" Vernon barked. "And why do you think I should let her—"

The woman in the doorway no longer looked middle aged. She looked young, with bright blue eyes, violently green hair and a rather ominous, threatening glint in her eyes.

Vernon shouted, then jumped back from the door. "Fine! Come in! Just don't let anyone see you like that!" Tonks calmly stepped inside and Harry closed the door behind her.

"We figured you'd forget the deal, Mr. Dursley," Tonks said firmly. "Harry is to do no more work than Dudley. Has that been true?"

"D-D-Dudley has other things— other responsibilities he has to see to," Vernon said.

"So does Harry," she said firmly, "though his responsibilities are a little more important than finding time to beat up Francis Ingleton and his eight year old brother." She pulled her wand from her sleeve, but did not point it at him. Just exposing it was enough to make Vernon back away.

"I will be nearby," she said as her face changed to that of an old woman, then again to that of a young businesswoman, and again to a teenager with a ring through her nose and a number of earrings. "You don't want to know what will happen if I see Harry doing any chores without Dudley by his side."

Vernon Dursley was pale and slowly backing away. He was slowly making his way to the kitchen. "Yes! Yes, very well," he reluctantly agreed.

"And you should be kinder to your secretary."

A yelp escaped Vernon's mouth as he ducked behind a corner leaving Harry and Tonks alone by the door.

Harry laughed and turned to Tonks. "You've disguised yourself as his secretary?"

"Well, no," Tonks said with smile and a shrug, "but he'll never know that, will he?" She turned her face back into the same middle-aged woman Harry saw out of his window. "And after meeting him, I feel very sorry for her, whoever she is."

* * *


	8. The Mistake

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 8 - The Mistake**

* * *

Dumbledore stood before the rest of the Order in the parlor of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. "We have found the family Harry saw in his dream. I regret to say that they are all dead." Ron and Hermione looked at each other, and then back to Dumbledore. His eyes were turned to the floor, and he looked much older than he ever had. Several other members of the Order exchanged troubled looks.

Lupin leaned back in his chair. "So, it's started again," he said with a defeated tone. "Harry actually saw it? It wasn't a prediction?"

Dumbledore looked up again, straightened his spectacles and continued, in a businesslike tone, "It was Willard and Agnes Hornby and their daughter Clarice who had indeed recently taken a job as a clerk with a spellbook publisher outside London. I had told him to stay out of the war and the Order eighteen years ago." He paused to let the shuffling of feet and chairs pass before continuing to answer the question many wanted to ask.

"He had a wife and a young child. Arthur and Molly couldn't stay out of it, but he could." Dumbledore paused again, returning to his more controlled manner. "They were attacked during the night almost two days ago. The Killing Curse was used on them all. There is significant damage to a number of rooms in the house, though their bodies were all found in the living room."

Dumbledore looked very tired. He paused to compose himself, then looked up again and continued. "The Ministry will not attempt cover it up. The _Prophet_ will be running a story tomorrow."

"There is a problem," Arthur spoke up. "The Ministry isn't revealing all the details. Well they're revealing everything but one detail."

Ginny felt a twinge of anger as he jaw clenched. Hermione, however, looked to be torn between anger and curiosity. "What? What is it?" she asked.

Arthur looked rather uncomfortable. He turned to Dumbledore, but Dumbledore was again silently looking toward the floor. When he turned back toward Hermione, he looked almost apologetic. After a moment of silence, Arthur finally answered. "There was no Dark Mark, but there was... something else."

Snape was obviously annoyed with Arthur's answer. "There was a mark in the shape of a lightning bolt burnt into the floor under the bodies," he announced sourly. "A most curious choice if the Dark Lord was responsible."

Everyone understood the implication behind Snape's comment. Ginny felt the heat rising in her face. Snape had all but accused Harry of being involved with the murder of three wizards. Ginny glared at him, but he responded with only a sneering smile. He knew what he'd said, but he didn't really believe it. The point, however, was still felt. Even if Snape didn't really believe it, many others would.

"You've got to be joking," Ron almost shouted. "They can't think Harry did it, not after everything he's done. Not after all they did to him."

Ron's father attempted to calm him down. "They don't know what it means. Some probably do think he does have something to do with it. The information he gave us—"

"He's always seen things. He saw you attacked! That doesn't mean he made it happen!"

"—The information he gave us was misleading. I sat in the Leaky Cauldron all day. Augustus Winters and Lawrence Dupre were there, and we're almost certain they're Death Eaters, but they just sat there, staring at me. Willard Hornby never came through. It seems that they didn't leave until after the attack. I remained there until Kingsley came to fetch me the next morning."

Ron looked confused. "But the rest was all true!"

"Perhaps, but to some it looks like Potter was simply trying to trick us," Snape explained. His voice had lost some of its condescension, but Snape's dislike for Harry was still evident.

"Unfortunately," Arthur continued, "and now the Ministry is planning to provide Harry with some... some Aurors to keep an eye on him."

Hermione looked up at Arthur. "Well, that's good right?" Lupin, Arthur, and Molly exchanged uncertain glances. Arthur again glanced to Dumbledore who had now taken to looking at the fireplace, but seemed no more willing to join the conversation.

"They're there to make sure he isn't doing anything," Ron told her, then looked at his father. "Aren't they?"

Arthur nodded. "They are being ordered to keep track of Harry's location at all times as well as tracking any owls he sends or receives." Ginny's head involuntarily jerked toward her father, and she caught Moody's eye swiveling to stare at her.

"They will also be protecting him," Dumbledore said quietly. His voice startled everyone. "And, yes Miss Granger, that is good news."

There was a moment of silence. Ginny could feel her annoyance boiling into anger. They were doing it again. She could feel it. They weren't going to explain any of it to Harry. She could practically hear the lies now, and with the Aurors watching him, they wouldn't be able to exchange owls nearly as often as they had before. Despite all of her effort, Harry was still going to be left in the dark. She knew she should keep her mouth shut, but she simply couldn't ignore it anymore.

"You _are_ going to tell him all of this." Everyone turned to look at Ginny. Anger smoldered behind her eyes, and there was a challenge in her voice. "Aren't you?"

Her parents stared at her. Even Dumbledore turned his eyes to her. She had been sitting in the corner, ignored by everyone. Finally her father answered her. "Tonks has already visited him, and told him about the Aurors."

"And the lightning bolt?" she returned, with a rebellious look.

Arthur looked less certain of himself. "We don't want to upset him with things he doesn't need to know yet." Ginny's eyes darted to her father's face and held his gaze for a moment. She ignored the bewildered look on his face. Her heart was pounding and both Ron and Hermione were staring at her in shock. Ginny opened her mouth to speak.

Dumbledore spoke up again before she could say anything. "He will know, Miss Weasley," he assured her. His voice was both placating and commanding. "But it is for the best that he is not told yet. If the Aurors ask questions, it will be simpler if he did not know about it."

Ginny's anger still flared and boiled inside her, and without thinking, she turned on her headmaster. "And what if they ask questions about how they got in, or what curses were used on them or why all the family photos that were burned?"

"Ah." Dumbledore said, as if Ginny's comment had answered some question he'd been struggling with. He looked at her and smiled, making her feel a little uncomfortable. "There was nothing special about how they got in the house, nor the curses they used. As for the pictures," he paused to stare at her, "I do not think we need to worry about any questions on that subject, Miss Weasley."

Ginny was confused by his cryptic answer, but she disliked being patronized, and her annoyance was apparent. "Oh really? And why not? Wouldn't that be just as incriminating?"

"Indeed," Dumbledore said as he looked at her over his spectacles. "It would be, but—" he paused as he looked to Arthur "—in this case, Harry would not be the one incriminated."

Arthur looked shocked. He turned to his only daughter. "That knowledge would be quite incriminating. Doubly so since you are the only one who seems to know it." He looked back toward Moody and Lupin. "It wasn't in the report, and I don't think any of us noticed anything like that. Everyone said it was a very loving family, yet I don't remember seeing any photos in the house."

It felt as if everyone in the room turned to stare at her. What had she done? Several emotions washed through Ginny's face: first surprise, then fear, then sadness which was slowly turning back to anger.

"Ginny, dear," Molly started with a hint of anger in her voice, "how did you know the photos were burned?"

Ginny's face hardened and fell to the floor, but she said nothing. She'd said quite enough. She'd be punished, but she wouldn't give them any more reasons to do it. Hermione suddenly turned to Ginny, and was about to say something, but Ron silenced her with a look. From across the room, Lupin barked out a laugh at the three of them. Ginny glared at him, but it only caused a smile and another laugh.

"Harry told her," he announced as he shook his head. "I thought Harry must have been talking to someone. I assumed it would have been Ron. I thought the owls for Ginny were just a diversion. It seems they have been talking about more than Quidditch."

"I _knew_ it!" Moody snarled as he jabbed a gnarled finger in Ginny's direction. "How many time did I tell you, Remus?. We can't have people keeping secrets from us. Albus, this is most troubling. I warned you that this could happen if we allowed the four of them to—"

"Actually Alastor, I find this all very reassuring," Lupin interrupted with a smile. "It looks to me as if we have Harry's three best friends sitting with us. One of them has been keeping his secrets from everyone, even her parents. One thinks only of protecting him and making him do the right thing, and the last one trusts and supports him so completely that he'll oppose his own best-friend to protect him, even when he doesn't understand what is going on." Ron smiled at that, and Dumbledore let out a small chuckle.

Moody did not find it as amusing as Dumbledore and Lupin. "Well, is it true, Miss Weasley?" he asked grumpily. Ginny said nothing, but her contemptuous expression answered for her. "Well, what else has he told you?" Ginny became peaceful, calm, and silent. Moody's fist pounded the table in annoyance. "We can't protect him if we don't know all the information. Did he tell you anything else we don't know about?"

Ginny's eyes flashed toward the old Auror. "No," she spat.

Snape immediately perked up, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Albus—",

Dumbledore stopped him with a gesture of his hand. "I know," he said, nodding his head. He looked Ginny in the eyes. "Miss Weasley is lying."

Moody stood up and glared at Ginny' parents. "Arthur, Molly, make her tell us what she knows." Arthur looked dumbfounded and Molly seemed as if she was having trouble deciding who she should be more angry with. Moody became more impatient. "Albus, can't you do something?" he asked before turning to Snape. "I know you can."

At that, Fred and George stood up, ready to defend their sister. Bill pushed his chair back and stood as well, though Ginny didn't know if it was to help or stop the twins. The atmosphere was suddenly tense, and everyone was now focused on Ginny. The room fell silent.

"Miss Weasley," Moody ground out, "you can't keep this from us. You have to tell us what you—"

"Stop," Dumbledore ordered him gently. His eyes met Ginny's. "If Miss Weasley has been clever and determined enough to keep this from us, she's clever and determined enough to know that she should keep quiet now that we know. She won't tell any of us anything —no matter what we threaten her with," he said. "—For tonight, at least."

Ginny's anger was replaced by mild confusion as she tried to figure out just what the headmaster had meant. Her mind raced and replayed the words in her head. She desperately hoped they meant what she thought: a message and an order hidden in the statement that would end the argument she had created.

Dumbledore stood up. "I think we are done here. Hedwig is still here. Alastor, I will send a message to Harry urging more... openness. Perhaps Miss Weasley will be more willing to share information tomorrow morning. If she does not, we will not force her to do so. I will not have us attacking each other and if she won't tell her friends, then I doubt she will tell her enemies."

Moody's leg clunked on the ground. "Albus, I must—"

"You must go to sleep, Alastor. We all must. I have no doubt the next day will be a busy one. Miss Weasley, I'd recommend you retire as well. Do try and get some sleep, and think about what was said tonight. Remus, if I could speak to you alone in... say, five minutes?" The headmaster turned and strode out of the room without another word.

Ginny stood up and simply walked out of the room, saying nothing and looking at no one. After she had left, the others slowly stood up, and left the room. The twins found Ron and they left talking in hushed voices while casting looks at Snape. Bill and Charlie shrugged and walked away. Moody paced the room and muttered to himself for a short while before he too walked out. Finally, only Hermione and Lupin were left.

"The day we got Harry's warning, I sent him a message just like Moody told me to," Hermione said, looking ashamed. "Later, I went to Ginny's room and saw Hedwig flying away. I knew Harry told Ginny about the first vision, I also knew that they were still exchanging letters, and I guessed that he was telling her things he wasn't telling you." She looked at her former professor. "She's probably told him things as well."

Remus only smiled. "Yes, I imagine so. I'm not surprised that Ginny wasn't the only one keeping secrets. I wonder what Ron knows that he isn't telling us." he said as he turned to look to where Ron went. "It doesn't matter."

"Ginny shouldn't be doing that," Hermione said. "None of us should."

"Perhaps not," Remus said, as a smile stretched his face again. It had become a more common sight recently. He had been sad and reserved for a few weeks after the incident in the Department of Mysteries, but the more time he spent with Ron and Hermione the more he seemed to return to his former self. "Perhaps we shouldn't, but it's not the first time it's happened, and Albus is familiar with friends' loyalty to each other. If I have learned anything of Albus' moods in twenty years, I'd recommend you go to your room. If you don't like what you learned during the meeting, you won't want to learn what I'm about to do."

Hermione looked confused, and worried, "What are you about to do? Will it be dangerous? We can find help if you—"

Lupin only chuckled. "Don't worry about it. To answer your questions: I have no idea what I'm about to do, but yes, it probably would be dangerous if Moody or Severus find out." At Hermione's confused look he added, "I don't know what Albus has planned, but I'm sure that if Sirius were still here, he'd approve whole-heartedly." Lupin's eyes dropped to the floor. "That alone would be enough to convince me to do it. I think we owe Harry that."

Hermione's face softened at the mention of Harry's godfather, but she became more suspicious. "I see," she responded. "I think you're right. I should probably go to my room." She walked to the door, but it opened for her, and Minerva McGonagall stepped through.

"Oh. Miss Granger. Albus didn't say anything about you being part of—" She stopped when she saw Lupin shaking his head. "I see. At least someone is acting responsibly." She turned to look at Hermione. "The Headmaster wishes to talk to Remus in private." Hermione nodded, and walked into the kitchen without looking back.

Dumbledore stepped through the door after Hermione left and greeted him with sparkling eyes and a bright smile. "Ah, Remus. So good to see you," Dumbledore said as he shook his hand.

"What will I be agreeing to do, Albus?" Lupin asked.

Dumbledore looked amused, "Ah. Straight to the point, I see. After the events of tonight I have realized that poor Miss Weasley has been through quite a bit and could use some cheering up. Minerva here tells me that young girls often enjoy small mirrors—"

"I most certainly do not," McGonagall said sharply. "Young girls would do better to put their faces in books instead of mirrors."

Dumbledore ignored her. "—so I had her fetch one for me." He looked at Lupin with feigned innocence. "Would you deliver it for me? I think you have the best chances of not upsetting her." He handed the mirror to Lupin.

"I would think you had a better chance—" Lupin froze as he looked at the mirror. "This is... You _know_ what this is, don't you?"

"It is a mirror, Remus. Quite plain of course, but I hear it's quite well made. Very comfortable to hold."

McGonagall gave the Headmaster a disapproving look. "How many more of his old trinkets will you give Harry?"

Dumbledore adopted his innocent look again. "Harry? No, this is to be given to Ginny Weasley."

Remus scowled lightly. "This belonged to James. You know it did. This should go to Harry."

"Ah, Harry already has one," he said soothingly, then held up his hand, "but I think he broke his. Pity." He walked past McGonagall as he paced around the room. "Perhaps it's for the best. If both Harry and Ginny had one, there would be no way for anyone to know what they might talk about." He stopped, and looked Lupin in the eyes. "And that would most definitely not please Alastor."

Lupin smiled and shook his head. "No. No it certainly would not."

Some time later there was a knock on Ginny's door. There was no response, so Lupin knocked again. "Ginny, it's Remus. I have something that might interest you." There was no response, but he could hear a plaintive hoot from an owl that must have been Hedwig.

"Ginny. I have something for Harry, too. Can I at least give it to Hedwig?"

After a short period of time, the door creaked open. Ginny said nothing, and it appeared she had been crying, or at least close to it. She let him enter. He gave Hedwig a small flat box, and noticed that she already had a large letter, without an address.

"Is that to Harry?" he asked lightly.

"The Headmaster said I shouldn't tell anyone anything," Ginny responded, then walked the door and invited him to leave.

"Yes, I thought he did as well. I have something for you," Lupin said. Ginny pretended to be interested. "The Headmaster seemed to think—"

At the mention of Dumbledore, Ginny quickly opened the door and waited for him to leave. Lupin tried to calm her down. "I really think you should close the door for this. You'll also want to write another letter to Harry." It seemed that Harry was the key to getting friendly reactions from her.

"What is it?" she said. She sounded tired and discouraged.

He brought out the mirror and handed it to her. "The headmaster thought that you might like having a mirror. He said it was a gift to cheer you up." Lupin looked her in the eye. "This might be a better way of sharing secrets."

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "A mirror? You want me to talk to a mirror? All I've done is given Harry what everyone else should have offered: a person to talk to who won't share his secrets and who won't hide things from him. I let him share some of the burden that he has to live with _every day_." She took the mirror from him and tried to shove Lupin out the door. "Now, GO!"

Lupin was confused, but he could hear footsteps headed his way. He whispered as quickly as he could, "No. You don't understand. Tell Harry what you've got. Keep it close to you. He'll know what to do. He'll explain everything to you. Tell him that they belonged to James and me and that I have Peter's."

"Fine," Ginny said with a final push, "just GO!"

"Ginny?" Molly said as she rounded corner. "Is everything all right?"

The door slammed and Lupin was left facing a worried Molly Weasley, who was growing angry at the thought of anyone upsetting her daughter even more this night despite her actions. "Albus wanted to see if I could cheer her up." He looked at the door as he heard Ginny cast a locking spell on it. "I think I failed."

"She'll cheer up," Molly said. "She always does. If she is going to talk to Harry behind our backs, perhaps he can cheer her up for us." Molly led Lupin away and back toward the rest of the house. "You know, I think Ginny hasn't given up on Harry, despite what her brothers think."

Lupin went to the study, and looked toward Little Whinging, wondering what secrets Harry had shared with Ginny. It seemed that there were some unpleasant details that he left out. Things that might be important, but were probably best kept secret for now. Albus knows what he's doing, he told himself. As he looked out the window at the waxing gibbous moon, he saw the small white shape of Hedwig, speeding toward a young man in need of a friend.

* * *

A pair of motionless shadows hunched behind a set of bushes in front of the nearly identical house across the street from the Dursleys. They had been there for quite some time. Harry didn't know when they had appeared, but they didn't concern him. Their appearance had coincided with the conspicuous disappearance of the two businessmen who'd spent most of the day in front of the same house. The two shadows were almost certainly the Aurors Tonks had identified earlier.

Harry was looking out at the most recent additions to the list of people constantly watching him when he saw the small bright shape approaching. He hadn't really expected Hedwig to return this late. It must have been news from Ginny. For a moment his spirits lifted. He wasn't being ignored. She'd learned something. Maybe they had caught some of the Death Eaters or found some proof of his story.

As Hedwig glided towards Number Four Privet Drive, Harry opened his window. On the street, the Aurors had marked Hedwig's arrival as well. Harry's mood soured as he saw one of the shadows across the street stand and simply disappear —or rather, Disapparate. They were keeping track of any messages Harry got. And probably anything he sent.

He would have been surprised to see Hedwig carrying a small package had he not been fuming about the Ministry spying on him. Hedwig dropped the package on his bed and Harry quickly untied the letter from her leg before she flew off to her perch. Harry rummaged around his desk looking for his Obscuring Orb while muttering about his current situation. Ginny's letter (he assumed) had been changed to look like some sort of legal document which seemed to be committing someone to prison.

Harry was right. It was a letter from Ginny. Her handwriting, however, was quite different from earlier letters. It was shaky and smudged in many places. She had been writing quickly. Upon closer inspection, some of the smudges were wet spots which had dried. She'd been crying. Harry felt his stomach clench uncomfortably, and as he read the message anger crept up his spine.

_Harry,_

_I've messed it up, Harry. They were keeping something from you. Something you should have known. I got angry. I couldn't help it and I said something I shouldn't have. I thought they already knew. They knew everything else. I wasn't thinking clearly and I mentioned the photos. They didn't know he burnt them. I'm so sorry, Harry. They caught me on it instantly, and Lupin figured it had to have come from you._

_They'll never trust me now. They know you told me about it. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know what they'll say to you. I feel horrible. Snape and Moody wanted to interrogate me. They think there's a lot more they don't know. Is there? I really don't know. Moody hasn't trusted me since we joined the Order, and now he'll watch me even closer. I'm useless._

What was Moody playing at? Ginny was doing nothing worse than Moody himself. Harry even felt slightly betrayed by Remus Lupin. Would he have turned in Sirius or his father? How could he, when James and Sirius had kept his secret?

_Dumbledore didn't let them ask me anything more, thankfully. I'm not sure what he has planned, but he didn't want anyone to talk to me. I don't know if there's anyone I can trust anymore. Not even Hermione. I feel so alone._

Harry felt terrible. This was his fault. He shouldn't have let Ginny do this.

_Anyway, this may be the last bit of information I can give you, if not the last owl I will ever send you. There was a mark under the bodies. A great lightning bolt burnt into the floor. I don't know what that means, Harry. They don't either, but some people think that you put it there. I know better, but what could it mean?_

_I wish I could say more, but I must send Hedwig now before someone bursts in to stop me. I'm sorry Harry._

_Ginny_

However, there was a even more hastily written section of text beneath it. There were no wet spots there, instead there were tiny splashes of ink from the violent strokes used to carve the script into the parchment.

_P.S.: Lupin visited before I could send this. He knows that I'm writing this to you but he didn't stop me. He gave me a 'gift' from Dumbledore. Told me if I wanted to share secrets I should talk to a mirror instead. I wanted to smash it right there._

_He had something for you, too. He told me to tell you that they belonged to him and your father, and that he has Peter's. Did he mean Peter Pettigrew? Is this another one of their old pranks?_

_At least I can get a good night's sleep while everyone thinks of ways of punishing me. I'll try to write if I can. If not, maybe the twins will help me sneak something out to you._

Harry leapt toward the small package on his bed. Could it be? Why else would Lupin have told her to talk to the mirror? He ripped the parchment wrapping off of the small box and tore it open. With a glint a small square mirror dropped from his hands onto his pillow. It was just like the one Sirius had given him.

Sirius would have sent his own Mirror if he didn't have James', of course. So, if Harry had his father's, and Sirius' was broken, then only Peter's and Lupin's own mirror were left. He read the last part of the letter again. Lupin said he had Peter's Mirror. So that must mean he'd given Ginny his own. He didn't want Ginny to have to know that Peter had owned something she was using. He had been trying to apologize. And Dumbledore must have known what the Mirrors were capable of.

Harry's mind stumbled about, trying to work out what must have happened. Dumbledore must have known what Ginny's been doing. Why else would he give Harry just what he needed at the very moment when he wouldn't be able to send any more owls? And Lupin... Lupin must have known, too. He would have had to fetch his own Mirror to give to Ginny.

They were trying to help him.

It was an odd feeling. He looked out to the stars, and didn't feel so alone. He could still talk to Ginny.

He held the Mirror in front of him and spoke as clearly as he could.

"Ginny Weasley."

The image in the mirror had shimmered and faded a little, but it quickly returned to simply reflecting his own face. He tried again but got the same thing. He was doing exactly as Sirius had told him, yet nothing was happening.

* * *


	9. A Pair of Aurors

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 9 - A Pair of Aurors**

* * *

Some time later, he gave up. Ginny simply wasn't answering. Or perhaps she didn't know how. Harry realized that even he didn't really know how to answer it. Would they just suddenly appear in the mirror seeing what was on the other side? Harry quickly turned the mirror over so that the only the dull back was visible. Only Ginny and Lupin should be able to use it, but he didn't want to take the risk.

He kept reading the letter over and over again. Ginny certainly seemed upset, but that was when she thought that she'd was in trouble. Now he felt confident that she wouldn't be punished for helping him, and that Dumbledore and Lupin were trying to help her, even if she didn't realize it yet. If only she would just pick up her Mirror. He finally put the letter down, and looked to Hedwig.

"I'm afraid you're not going to be delivering any letters for a while," he told her. "But I don't want to keep you cooped up here, so I'll let you out for a while. Do what you like. I'm sure Ron and Hermione will take care of you if you want them to."

Hedwig hooted.

"Thanks," he said, not sure what Hedwig would have meant by that. "Hopefully you can come back in a week or so. I'll be waiting."

Harry went to the window and opened it. He looked out the window and saw the Aurors still hiding in the bush behind the bench. Hedwig hooted as she glided past Harry and out the window. As he expected, one of the two shapes he knew to be Aurors vanished suddenly.

He tried to imagine what the Aurors would think, but stopped as he thought of an idea that could help relieve his boredom, frustration, worry, and curiosity. He closed the window and turned out his light. He grabbed his Mirror, and used it to look out the window. In a few minutes, a shape popped into existence on the pavement near the bench. It crouched low to the ground and quickly moved behind the bush.

Harry slowly put down his Mirror and grabbed his wand and invisibility cloak, he crept downstairs and out the back door. He slipped on the cloak, noticing that it wasn't nearly so baggy as it used to be. He held his wand firmly in one hand, and pulled the cloak over his head with the other.

He slowly stalked off into the backyard of one of the neighboring houses and quietly walked around to the front of the house. He decided he should see if he'd be able to use magic without the Aurors detecting it, so he pointed his wand at a stone laying nearby in a flower garden.

"_Accio Stone!_"

The stone flew to his hand silently, but the Aurors didn't move. It seemed he was free to use magic. He crossed the street quickly and silently with his heart beating faster as he got closer to the Aurors. He had never been able to actually enjoy this sort of thrill. Only the excitement of Quidditch felt like this. It was much different from running from Death Eaters or fighting Basilisks. Without the fear of his gruesome death, it became just another game to play.

Harry paused when he got to the side of the street the Aurors were on. He hoped there was no reason to be afraid. The Aurors wouldn't use Unforgivable Curses. He paused as he tried to convince himself of that. After a moment, he smiled and decided that he wouldn't give them a chance.

He crept along the pavement, sticking to the grass until he could make out the shapes of two wizards casually sitting behind a bush. They were facing away from him so he simply moved in behind them until they were almost close enough to hear him stepping through the grass. Harry tossed the stone he had summoned high into the air over the street.

It landed seconds later with a loud _Clack__, and then proceeded to bounce toward the Dursley's home. Both Aurors were standing in an instant, their wands drawn and looking for the source of the noise._

"You'll want to put those away. There are still Muggles around at this hour," Harry said calmly.

The two Aurors jumped back and trained their wands on him instead. He was sitting right where they had been, and was looking up at them with an expressionless face and his wand held loosely in his hand.

"How'd you do that?" one of the Aurors asked as he backed away from Harry.

The other gave a hearty laugh and walked toward Harry. "I don't know how you did it, but you certainly got both of us. Shacklebolt's not going to like hearing this."

"If you're not more careful, you'll both be picked up as burglars," Harry warned.

"The Muggles don't see us," the first one said. "Distraction Charm, of course. They always think we're just tricks played by shadows and fog."

"Well, unless they work during the day, you'll have to be a little more discrete. Even my uncle noticed you. Where did you get those clothes?"

The taller of the Aurors looked insulted. "My mother was a Muggle, she bought these for us. They've worked just fine for over ten years now."

Harry laughed and shook his head. "Well, I think I'm going for a walk in the park. It's pretty late, so it should be empty. I assume you'll be joining me?"

"We aren't supposed to leave our post."

"Well, I'll be at the park. I don't see how you'll know what I'm doing if you are still here."

Harry started walking toward the park. A moment later the two Aurors were walking on either side of him. They walked in silence for some time before Harry finally needed to say something. The taller of the two seemed to like him, so Harry tried to start a conversation with him. "You two obviously know me," he said to the taller one. "You can call me Harry. What am I supposed to call you?"

"Nothing," he replied. "We're supposed to watch you, not chat over tea."

Harry glared at him. "We're the only wizards for miles. I'm bored and you want answers. But then, I've been bored for weeks, so what's another night—"

The large one interrupted. "I am Magnus Montnor, and this is Clarence Stafford. You can call us Magnus and Clarence."

"See, now that wasn't hard, was it?"

"So, you'll answer our questions?" Magnus continued.

Harry paused to think. "I'll talk to you. I won't answer all your questions. I don't think I even have all the answers, but over time—"

Clarence interrupted him before he could finish. "How do you know you don't have the answers if you don't know what the questions are?"

Harry stopped walking and faced him. He looked the Auror in the eyes, and noticed for the first time that he was only a inch or so shorter than Clarence.

"I don't know why Voldemort picked them. It doesn't make sense to me either." Harry waited for a response. "That was one of the questions, wasn't it?"

Clarence was starting to look a little intimidated, and Harry continued in a slightly louder voice. "I don't know why Bellatrix said they would be coming in by Floo when it seems they never actually intended to do that. And I don't know why they didn't cast the Dark Mark."

Magnus was quietly laughing behind Harry. "That's a pretty good start. Maybe you should give him a break, Stafford." He slapped Harry on the back and pulled him along the pavement toward the park. "Clarence here, he can be a bit skeptical."

Harry looked at Clarence. "Fine. Ask your questions." They had reached the park. Harry sat on one of the nearby swings, and the two Aurors stood in front of him. However, instead of asking any questions they both just looked at each other, and then at Harry.

"Well?" Harry prodded. "Here we are, a nice private place for you to interrogate the dangerous Harry Potter. Here, I'll even put my wand on the ground."

Harry took his wand from his pocket and placed it in the grass near his feet. This seemed to shame the two Aurors more than comfort them. Even Clarence started to look as if he didn't want to do this. Harry shook his head as he looked at the ground.

"It's really late. You two can guess what kind of day I've had. Either ask your questions, or I'm going home to a restless night dreaming of the screams of a dying family."

"Did you kill that family?" Clarence blurted out. Magnus gave him a disgusted look, but Clarence looked as if he already regretted asking.

Harry's voice was flat and mechanical. "No. I was here. I sent an owl to Arthur Weasley as soon as I could." It wasn't really the truth, but it wasn't so far from the truth, either.

"Did you watch it happen?" Clarence asked.

"Yes. In a dream."

"You weren't there?"

"It felt like I was, but that's not how it works."

"How what works?" Magnus asked.

"This," Harry replied, lifting his fringe and pointing at his scar. "I took some of Voldemort's power, and in exchange, I occasionally have to see what he's doing." Harry didn't want to explain anything more about this connection, and tried to lead them away from that topic. "I watched, but I couldn't do anything about it. I didn't even see him kill anyone."

"So how much did you see?"

Harry gave a frustrated sigh. "I saw everything up to the point when I stopped seeing things, didn't I?"

"What was the last thing you _did_ see?"

"I don't know," Harry said as he stared into the night sky in mock thoughtfulness. "There was quite a bit of pain. I suppose it would have been Voldemort's eyes as my head felt like it was exploding, but before that was a lot of screaming and a familiar green flash." The Aurors sat in shocked silence. "What else were you told to ask me?"

Clarence looked into sky in frustration. "Have you been to the cottage?"

"No," Harry said flatly. "If I knew where it was, you wouldn't have wasted two days trying to find it."

"Have you read anything about the attack?"

"No, the Muggles aren't big fans of the _Daily Prophet_."

"Who were you sending the owl to?"

"No one," Harry said as he glared at them. "With you two reporting back to the Ministry every time an owl passes through my window, I figured I'd let Hedwig have a holiday. I have no idea where she is."

"Is there anything you haven't told us?"

Harry looked at Clarence directly. "Yes." He stood, and then began walking around the two Aurors slowly. "I have some questions for you."

Clarence raised his hand to stop Harry. "We're not allowed to—" Harry ignored him.

"Has anything else like this happened since June?"

"No," Magnus responded despite glares from his partner.

"Have you found any reason for the attack?"

"No, a few of us—"

"The wizard, he hadn't done anything to anger Voldemort? He wasn't a Ministry employee? He didn't have any connection with Albus Dumbledore?"

Clarence looked puzzled. "What are you getting at?"

"He's trying to figure out why V—" the older Auror seemed to struggle over the next word "—why _he_ picked that family so he can anticipate who might be next." Montnor stared at Harry. "Aren't you?"

"It looks like he did it just to show that he can," Harry explained as he kept pacing. "He just picked someone out as if all he wanted was someone who wouldn't be found immediately. It doesn't make sense. If this was just a random attack, why are you two here?"

"There's nothing special about the family. They've been looking for something all day."

"There must be _something_," Harry mumbled. "There was so much anger and hatred... It was an old anger. He knew them." He looked back at the Dursley's. It was getting late.

"I'm leaving. Feel free to follow me."

Harry started walking back to Number Four Privet Drive, and the Aurors quickly followed. As he began to cross the street across from his destination, he stopped and faced the Aurors.

"I'm sure you'll see me soon," he told them. "You'll discover this place to be quite boring."

When Harry got back to his room he tossed his invisibility cloak on his desk and reached for his Mirror. After looking out his window quickly and seeing the two Aurors talking animatedly to each other, he pulled the drapes across the window and sat on his bed. He held the Mirror directly in front of him, and said with a clear voice: "Ginny Weasley"

The mirror shimmered, and slowly darkened to blackness, but when the shadows lifted he was looking at himself again. He flopped down on his bed. Hedwig was gone. And even if she were here, she would only be tracked to Ginny. And Ginny didn't seem to know he was trying to talk to her.

He was isolated again. His only comfort was the mirror in his hand. He turned the mirror over again, seeing his fathers initials carved into the back of it. It was somehow comforting to recover yet another reminder of his parents. He still kept the mirror Sirius had given him. It, however, lay broken and wrapped in an old shirt at the bottom of Harry's trunk. Harry's Firebolt was the only other thing Sirius had given him.

Now Sirius was gone. His parents were gone. Dumbledore was busy, and very few people knew where he was at any moment. He certainly hadn't talked to Harry. Ron and Hermione were together at Grimmauld Place with the rest of the Weasleys, the closest thing Harry had to family. He looked at the picture of his parents he kept by his bed. His mother gave him a consoling smile as she waved.

Everyone was being taken from him. Sirius. His parents. As his mothers hair shone in the sun his mind wandered to Ginny. Now he was separated from the only person he felt he could talk to. Maybe she was being punished. Why had they let her send the mirror? They didn't seem to be letting her use it.

He threw himself down on the bed and tossed the Mirror into his trunk with Sirius' mirror. Both were equally useless so far as he was concerned. Why had Lupin even given it to him?

Harry suddenly sat up in his bed. He walked to his desk and read the note Ginny had sent with it. When he was finished he walked to his trunk and retrieved his father's mirror. If Ginny was right, he wasn't completely isolated. He looked in the mirror and said in a clear voice:

"Remus Lupin"

Again, the mirror shimmered and faded to blackness but when the shadows were swept away, Harry didn't see his own face. Instead, he saw a lamp with a flickering light before the view spun to show a wizard with grey flecked hair.

"Harry?"

"Professor Lupin!" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry! What's wrong? Do I need to wake the others?"

"NO!" Harry almost shouted. "No. I— I just wanted to er— make sure this thing worked."

Harry wondered how much he could trust his old professor. Would he ask about Ginny? He quickly decided that it didn't matter. Ginny said that Dumbledore had told Lupin to send the Mirror, and while Harry had not talked to Dumbledore at all since he had revealed the horrible prophecy Harry was a part of, he trusted Dumbledore to not betray him that way.

Lupin's face shrank in the mirror as he apparently leaned back in his chair. He seemed to relax as he looked around the room then turned back to the Mirror.

"I must admit that I would not have imagined that I would be the one you'd choose to test our Mirrors on, Harry."

"It seems I don't have any other options," said Harry dejectedly. "The Aurors are only amusing for so long."

"You spoke with them?"

"Yeah, Clarence Stafford and Magnus Montnor. They were... inquisitive."

"Be careful around them, Harry," cautioned Lupin, "They might work for Kingsley Shacklebolt, but we don't know who they are loyal to."

"I introduced myself and let them ask their questions. It's not like I could tell them anything they might find interesting, considering how much information the Order shares with me. I'm actually hoping that I can trick them into telling me something. Anything, really. Even Quidditch scores would be an improvement."

"Harry—"

"They _are_ the only link I've got with the wizarding world," said Harry in a sullen voice. "Of course, if they aren't to be trusted, the easiest solution is to let them become my friends so they stop talking to me as well."

"That's not fair—"

"Maybe, not, but it is ingenious," Harry cut him off. He'd had a long day and his patience was wearing thin. "Should I be at all concerned that the only person who actually wants to share information with me also wants to rule the wizarding world? I figured that would be bad."

"We're not—"

"No, wait for this!" Harry interrupted with feigned excitement. "Perhaps I should face Voldemort _more_ often. The fact that he murdered my parents might not be the best foundation for a deep friendship, but with a little dedication I'm sure we could get it to work. Then, once he was really close to me, he'd either die or ignore me. At least then I could sleep." Lupin looked puzzled and a little hurt.

"But, you know that..." Lupin paused to look over his shoulder again, "...that I gave one of these to—" Lupin's voice dropped to a whisper "—to her."

"Yeah, and I'm sure the Order has nothing to do with the fact that she's not using it. It's probably locked away already."

"No..." Lupin said quietly, "I just gave it to her. It must still be in her room."

Harry felt a glimmer of hope, yet he remained frustrated. "Yes, well, she wasn't all that happy with you, was she?" Harry said in a harsh whisper. It seemed neither of them wanted to wake any of their house-mates. "She almost smashed it right in front of you. I doubt she was any happier when she wrote me." Harry paused, relaxed, and looked back in the mirror. "Whenever I ask the mirror for her, all I see is myself."

"You're afraid that she broke it?" Lupin asked.

"Aren't you?" Harry said, "After all, it is _your_ mirror. Why else wouldn't she be using it?"

Lupin looked serious. "I think I'd find it a small price to pay for such a valuable lesson. You should have been honest with us. Both of you. I think it would only be fitting that your second chance be taken away because of rash actions." Lupin's voice had started to rise, but he stopped and seemed to relax. "In the end, it didn't really matter, but what if she had been keeping really useful information a secret?

Harry just listened quietly. He was starting to think this had been another bad idea. If his only connection to his friends would be the occasional row over not being the Order's puppet, then perhaps he should just get used to loneliness. He tried to relax, but his disappointment turned back to anger and built inside him. He wanted to yell back at Lupin. He wanted to tell him how he felt betrayed and used. Instead he forced his mouth to remain shut and tried to ignore the light throbbing in his head.

Lupin noticed Harry's silence, and his face became blank and surprised. "Look, I'll check to see if ...er... the other Mirror still works. It shouldn't take long, and then I'll be back."

Harry's Mirror went dark, then cleared to show his reflection. He saw in his face what Lupin had seen. He recoiled at the anger and frustration in his own face. He dropped the Mirror on his bed as if it had burnt him. He had to relax. He sat on his bed and closed his eyes, like he often did. He emptied his mind of emotion. He felt his anger flowing away, replaced by an empty calm.

"Harry!" Lupin's voice called urgently.

Harry immediately reached for the mirror, but found it already in his hand. He scowled at it, but looked in it squarely to see his old professor's worried face.

"What were you doing?" said Lupin curiously, "I called for you several times, and you just suddenly appeared."

Harry looked away from the mirror. "I was practicing Occlumency. You startled me."

"I see," Lupin said, though he sounded unsure. "Well, I guess you'll be glad to hear that—" Lupin paused to look over his shoulder yet again, '—the other mirror is working."

"Really?" Harry said louder than he intended. "You talked with her?"

"No," Lupin said slowly, "not really, but I can tell that her Mirror is working."

"Oh," said Harry dejectedly, "she just doesn't want to talk with me."

"I wouldn't say that," Lupin replied with a chuckle. "You were quite right. She is not at all pleased with me or Albus' gift. In fact, I think it's quite possible that the Mirror is at the bottom of a waste bin under several drafts of letters explaining just how horrible a person I am."

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?" responded Harry. "She doesn't know how to use it tonight, and by tomorrow I doubt anyone will let her ever use it."

"Only you, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and I know about the Mirror, Harry," Lupin said with a smile. "So long as she doesn't make a fool of herself again, I don't think anyone else ever need know. In fact, I'd urge you to keep this a secret from as many people as possible."

"But— Wait," said Harry as he ran his hand through his hair. "You aren't telling anyone?"

"Well, I plan on trying to explain it to... her," Lupin said, "But, no, I won't be telling anyone else. Especially not any of our Auror friends."

"Why?"

Lupin's expression softened, and he looked almost sad. "I believe that everyone in the Order has a job to do. Some of us are trying to make sure Voldemort is stopped—"

"—Moody—" interrupted Harry.

"—Yes. Some of us are just trying to protect you, even when you don't want it—"

"—Hermione—" Harry interrupted again, smiling a little.

"—And Molly. Everyone has a job. You already know what yours is. Moody— Well, he knows what needs to be done and he—"

"What's your job?" Harry asked.

Lupin smiled. "I don't know what my job is yet. But I think I'm learning it. A more important question would be what young Miss Weasley's job is."

"I don't know," Harry said quietly. Both of them were silent for some time but the question echoed in Harry's mind. Why was she doing it? She had only said that she was doing it because Ron and Hermione wouldn't.

A small smile flashed across Lupin's face, and was quickly replaced with a look of passive seriousness. "Harry, have you told Ginny anything else that you haven't shared with us?"

Harry tensed up. What would Lupin say if he knew the truth? What if he knew the truth already? Harry didn't even know how much Ginny had said. Had she told them about all the things she had told him? What had she revealed that the Order didn't know? Harry quickly tried to decide how much he could tell Lupin.

If Lupin already knew everything, he'd know if Harry was lying. But if he didn't know, Harry might make the situation worse by getting Ginny in even more trouble. He didn't like having to choose, but the choice seemed obvious.

Harry looked calmly at Remus Lupin's face in his Mirror.

"No, I haven't."

Lupin stared back at him. "Has she told you anything that she wasn't supposed to tell you?"

Harry tried to look surprised. "No, we've only talked about Quidditch other than that one letter."

Lupin smiled back at him. "Your father often did the same thing for Sirius and I. It's late, Harry. Try to get some sleep. I'll see what I can do to make sure that Ginny isn't punished too severely for such a minor mistake, and you might want to keep your Mirror handy tomorrow night."

The Mirror faded and soon Harry was left looking at his own face again. This time, however, he saw a look of questioning surprise.

Lupin _was_ helping him. And Ginny.

As he lay on his bed waiting to fall asleep his mind wandered between all the unanswered questions. What did the mark mean? Why is Lupin suddenly helping him, when he wasn't before? What is Lupin's job in the Order?

And what was Ginny's job?

* * *


	10. Confessions

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 10 - Confessions**

* * *

Ginny had slept in. She had no idea what anyone else would say or think of what she'd done the night before. She didn't even know what she thought of it. She knew they would ask why, but even she didn't know why she'd done it.

She did feel that she should repay Harry for saving her in her first year at Hogwarts. She truly was angry about the way Moody and some of the others treated her and the rest of the Hogwarts students in the Order. They had fought as much or more than most of the adults. She was disgusted by how they were treating Harry. They were still trying to protect and control him.

She kept telling herself it had nothing to do with the crush she had for him only a year or so ago. In her own mind, it was true, though she didn't know if others would believe that. Perhaps she simply felt that Harry shouldn't have to feel that he was alone in his fight. And in a way, she felt protective of Harry. She pushed that thought away. Harry didn't need anyone protecting him. He needed someone to help him.

Any of those reasons should be good enough. It didn't really matter which she picked. She just hoped no one would ask her which one was the most important to her.

She spent the rest of the day avoiding everyone. She ate a late, and quiet lunch with Mundungus Fletcher. They said as little as possible to each other while they quickly cleaned off a platter of leftover food in a corner of the kitchen. When they finished Mundungus gave her a conspiratorial nod and smile as she left. "Good luck, Miss," he whispered. Ginny wondered who he was hiding from.

The rest of the day passed without much excitement, for Ginny at least. Grimmauld Place was fairly quiet. Many of the Order members were trying to find more information about the recent attack, it seemed. Some of them were probably checking into her blunder as well.

At one point, Hermione knocked on her door to ask if she could borrow a book which Ginny knew Hermione already owned. Even Ron put in an attempt when he came up to ask if Ginny wanted to borrow any of his Quidditch books. Ginny had been mostly polite, but had not said anything more to either of them.

Finally, that evening, Fred and George came looking for her. She let them in and went about reorganizing her books.

"Ron said you kicked him out when he tried to talk to you about Quidditch. That wasn't terribly diplomatic." George said.

"Yes, well he didn't really want to talk about Quidditch, did he?"

"Of course he did!" Fred said, "You know Ron. He lives for that stuff. He'd go bonkers here without those Quidditch books."

"Really?" Ginny said, as she dusted off a book and put it back. "He just wanted to talk Quidditch?" She gave them a remorseful face.

"Honestly," Fred said.

Ginny was lazily paging through another book as she replied, "Then why were you two listening on the Extendable Ears?" She closed the book and placed it on her bed. "And I dare you to try that again."

"Well, then," Fred said, sounding satisfied with the conversation. "In other news, our mother has requested your attendance at dinner tonight."

"She really did miss you this noon," George added, trying to sound very formal.

"I'm certain she did," Ginny said as she finished tidying up the books. "I ate with Mundungus."

"Ahh," George chuckled, "I believe she was looking for him as well."

"Yes, well I'll go down if he's there," she answered mockingly.

"Honestly, Ginny, how bad could it be?" Fred asked.

"That's right," George added. "Mum's almost forgiven us for starting the joke shop."

"You started it months ago!"

"And it's much better now than it was for the first month!"

"That wasn't the most convincing example," Fred mumbled. George just shrugged and mumbled back, loud enough for Ginny to hear: "What else is there? The woman's a terror."

"Could you please just come down with us?" Fred pleaded.

"Why? So I can be yelled at?"

"Precisely," Fred said with a nod. "You might as well get it over with while Dumbledore is around."

"And Mum promised to forgive us for the joke shop if we could bring you down," George added.

"Dumbledore's said he wasn't going to let anyone force you to do anything," Fred explained. "So if you help us out, we'll promise to repay the favor."

Ginny decided that she couldn't put off whatever consequences she'd get any longer. If she came down with the twins, she might at least be able to contact Harry one last time with their help. She reluctantly stood and followed them into to the kitchen. She was hoping to walk in behind them and sit against the wall away from the others. The twins had other ideas.

"May we present, the very reclusive—"

"—and rebellious—" Fred interjected.

"—Ginny Weasley!"

At that they parted leaving everyone to stare at her. She immediately scowled at them both, considering an appropriate hex, when she spotted Dumbledore sitting next to Tonks. He smiled and nodded at the chair Ginny normally sat in. The twins had been telling the truth. Dumbledore was back. She really hadn't had any choice.

She warily sat down and spent the entire meal avoiding everyone else's eyes and staying out of as many conversations as she could. She ate as quickly as she could, hoping to eat enough to allow her to skip breakfast the next morning. When she was finished eating, she tried to get up but Dumbledore whispered to her, "If I may, I would suggest that you stay." So she did.

Taking this as a signal, Lupin stopped eating and cleared his throat. "I know some of us are still eating, everyone has had a long day, and some of us—" his eyes darted toward Ginny, then away, "—still have things we should do tonight. So, I'm going to try and be brief. Harry has met with his... guards, I suppose. They seem to be decent enough chaps. I don't think we'll have problems with them." Lupin leaned forward and reached for his cup. "He also said that he'll try to not to forget any more details from his dreams." There was an annoyed snort from Moody.

Arthur spoke up. "We looked over the room again today. Willard Hornby was very proud of his daughter, but there weren't any family photos in the room. Friends of the family have confirmed that there should have been a number of them there, and there is indeed fresh ash on the floor. We had assumed that it was from Floo travel, like Harry's vision suggested. But—" he looked down, "—but his fireplace was not connected to the network. Hasn't been for some time, not since before the last war."

He looked up but avoided looking in Ginny's direction. She didn't think he was angry with her. It was something else. He was... afraid?

"It does indeed seem that all the photos were incinerated that night."

"Well, she was right," Moody growled at Lupin. "Harry says that he simply forgot?" Lupin nodded. "I suppose I should have expected as much from James' son," he said rubbing his forehead. "Well, Miss Weasley? Do you have anything else to share? Has Harry told you anything more?"

Ginny simply looked down at the table. She didn't know what to do. She was afraid that if she kept quiet, they would never trust her again, and she would be left out just like Harry.

"Alastor—" Dumbledore started, but Ginny's voice rose over it.

"He told me he had to listen to Willard Hornby's family being tortured."

Everyone turned and looked at her. Dumbledore seemed more surprised than the rest, looking almost betrayed. Ginny ignored them and glared at Mad-Eye Moody.

"Voldemort made Mr. Hornby watch as he burned all the pictures, and then he tortured his family." She said. Her voice was deepened with anger, but it was anger over breaking her promise, not over what happened. She had to be convincing, so she continued. "Harry doesn't have a family, and he had to watch as someone else lost theirs. He was hurt and embarrassed." She was nearly yelling now, and Moody was looking as shocked as the rest of the Order.

"I see." Moody said. "There wasn't anything—"

"He just wanted someone to talk to who wouldn't discuss his feelings at a nightly meeting!" she yelled. Molly glared at her, and she looked down again.

"No. There was nothing else, but the letter is gone."

"Well, make sure you give us any more letters you get from Potter." Moody said.

Ginny looked offended. "I will not," she replied testily. The twins were whispering to each other, and looking at her oddly.

Kingsley Shacklebolt spoke up, "Couldn't we just intercept all incoming owls?"

"Now that sounds like a splendid idea," Dumbledore said. "I hear that Delores Umbridge is looking for a job, and she has plenty of experience in that area."

"Albus—" Moody began.

"Albus, we need to know—" Kingsley tried to argue.

"I will not have us fighting amongst ourselves like this," Dumbledore said forcefully. "Ginny has done nothing wrong. She has only done what a friend asked, and I will not punish her for that. No one was put in any danger. However, I do not think any letters about Harry's dreams should be destroyed. Perhaps we can all agree to give them to Harry's new godfather, and let him handle them as needed."

"Harry's—" Lupin started to ask. "Who would that be?"

"You, of course," answered Dumbledore. He smiled, then turned to Ginny. "You will agree to that? Anything about Harry's dreams. Any _letters_ about his dreams."

Ginny nodded. There was something odd about how Dumbledore had said that. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. It seemed there was something she was missing. She needed to talk to Harry, but more importantly, she had to get away from all the questions. She didn't want to lie, but she would if she was forced to. She certainly wouldn't be handing over Harry's letters.

She sat in sullen silence for the rest of the meal, which had quickly turned into a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix where the members simply happened to be eating. It seemed to drag on forever. Ginny wished she could just slink off up the stairs, but Moody seemed to be watching her as if he expected just that.

Finally, after waiting much longer than she had wanted to, Ginny was back in the safety of her own room. She rummaged around looking for the mirror Lupin had given her. Was that what Lupin was referring to when he said that some people still had things to do tonight? As soon as she found it, she heard a light rapping on her door. She tossed the mirror under her pillow and opened the door.

She recoiled in surprise when she saw who her visitor was. "Headmaster? Is there something more?" She was suddenly afraid. She didn't know if she could lie to Dumbledore. She didn't know if anyone could.

"I'm afraid there is," he said. "Remus has told me that you did not seem to appreciate my gift as much as I expected."

She looked at him with uncertainty. "I wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean."

"Oh, I don't think it was supposed to _mean_ something," he replied with a laugh. "It was supposed to _do_ something. Or rather, let you do something. I'm sure you were hoping for some word from Harry today?"

"Yes," she said, still suspicious.

"It seems that Hedwig has taken a small holiday."

"How do you know that?"

Ginny tried to remember. She had sent Hedwig off late last night, and no owl had come to Grimmauld Place since she woke up. She looked at Dumbledore and the answer slowly came to her: He'd heard from Harry. She had been keeping an eye out for owls all day. But she must have missed one. "You've heard from Harry," she said slowly, getting a surprised look from her Headmaster. "Or... someone else has." The look on Dumbledore's face seemed to confirm this. Ginny felt an odd heaviness in her stomach.

Harry had written back, just not to her.

"Who _did_ he write to?" Ginny felt suddenly afraid that Harry wasn't going to write to her anymore. "Is he upset with me? Does he not trust me anymore?" she asked, then looked Dumbledore in the eyes, "Has something happened so he can't talk with me?"

Dumbledore's earlier expression broke and he smiled at her as he looked into her eyes. Ginny suddenly felt confused. She didn't know why she was afraid, but she was.

"No, Miss Weasley. Something _has not_ happened so he can talk with you," he laughed. "However, it does bring to mind another question I had: Why have you done this?"

"Done what?" Ginny asked. "Telling everyone what Harry told me? I just wanted to do the right thing."

"And that will come in quite useful when you are a prefect this year." Dumbledore said, "but you know what I what I was asking." He looked into Ginny's eyes. "You didn't tell Alastor everything. You are still protecting Harry. You're still keeping his secrets, and telling him yours. Why?"

Ginny froze. She didn't know what to say. She was shocked to hear she would be a prefect, but it was drowned by the surprise that Dumbledore knew so much of what she had done.

"I—", she started, "It's complicated—"

"Do you know why you're helping Harry?"

She looked him in the eyes. "No."

For a moment, Dumbledore looked troubled. After looking at Ginny for some time, he relaxed and held out his wand. The mirror leapt out from under the pillow to his hand, and he offered it to her. "Perhaps you and Harry can talk about it. All you had to do is say his name."

Ginny suddenly started to understand. "Is it— It's a way of talking to Harry without an owl."

She felt embarrassed and happy at the same time. It suddenly made sense. Dumbledore was helping her.

"Of course," she whispered as she shook her head. "'Something _has not_ happened'. And— Lupin was trying to tell me. I wouldn't listen." She looked the Headmaster in the eye again.

"Why? Why are you helping me? Does Moody know about this?"

"Oh, I agree with Remus. Alastor would very much disapprove of this gift," he said with a smile. "Especially after you just agreed to hand over all letters mentioning Harry's dreams to the original owner of this gift."

"So Lupin knows everything, too? Will he tell anyone?"

"No," Dumbledore said, shaking his head, "No, Remus keeps many secrets. I'm certain there are many things which he has not even told me. And now he feels he must take the place of both Sirius and James. I expect you will have quite an ally in Remus, though your goals may be different."

"And what about you?" Ginny asked, surprising herself. "What are your goals for Harry?"

"I have many responsibilities. I would do anything to protect Harry from his fate. Instead, I must help guide him on the hard path ahead of him. However, the help I can provide is not what Harry needs most. You know that. You are the solution to a problem that exists only because so many people want to protect Harry. So, it seems to me that the best way to help Harry is to help you. He already has Ron Hermione, Remus, and many others, but none of them have the potential to understand this part of him like you have. You're the one he's missing."

Ginny felt the heat rising in her face. She knew he hadn't meant to make it sound like it did, but she couldn't help herself. She didn't have a crush on Harry anymore. That was over. He was just Harry: brave, generous, humble, handsome— but just a good friend. Her brother's best friend. Why should she still find it so embarrassing?

"You don't know why you're helping Harry?", Dumbledore asked, a curious smile stretching across his face.

"He needs _someone_," she started to explain, "and Ron and Hermione... Well you're right, they don't—" Ginny paused as she tried to collect her thoughts. "I wanted to do _something_. I just wanted to help him. I didn't do this for myself, I swear—"

"I believe you." he said after a thoughtful pause. "It's getting late, and you'll want to get some sleep eventually. Perhaps I can suggest some charms for your door."

* * *

Harry waited in his room all afternoon and evening. He'd eaten his lukewarm dinner in his room, waiting for his new mirror to show some sign that Ginny was trying to talk to him. The sun went down, but there was not even the hint of a glimmer from his mirror.

He stood up and walked to his window. Outside, his guards were sitting against a tree. They'd given up hiding from Harry, and their Disillusionment Charms were more than enough to keep the local Muggles from noticing them. Harry didn't think they'd noticed him.

He kept the light on in his room, but put on a set of light robes and pulled his Invisibility Cloak on over them. He was bored. He needed to talk with _somebody_, and at the very least, he could try to have some fun. He grabbed his wand and slipped it into one of his outer pockets, then pulled the Cloak over his head and slowly pulled the door open. As he stepped out of his room, he saw the light from his lamp glint of his Mirror. "It can't hurt," he whispered to himself as he went back and slipped the mirror into one of the inside pockets of his robes.

Slipping past the Dursley's was easy. They were all in the living room staring mindlessly at some loud American show on the television as he gingerly walked down the stairs. He wouldn't have even needed his Invisibility Cloak. A moment later he was out the kitchen door and quietly closing it.

The night was refreshingly cool, but that meant there was a dull haze hanging in the air, making it feel as if the night were pressing around him, stealing any feeling of freedom he might have from being out of his cramped room.

It would, however, make the evening's pastime a little easier for him. The streetlights shown through the haze casting mottled shadows everywhere and turning every shrub or post into some hidden threat. After hours of this haze, the Aurors would have given up trying to chase the shadows.

Harry stepped out around Number Four Privet Drive, to stand in what should have been plain view of the Aurors. Of course, he still had the Invisibility Cloak on, but that hadn't stopped Dumbledore or Mad-Eye Moody. After a good minute, he decided that they must not be able to see him, from that distance at least.

He considered circling around behind them as he had before, but as he stepped onto the road, he decided that it was much too dull to do again. So he turned toward the Aurors, and started walking toward them very slowly. They both seemed to be hunching over some large object in turns. One of them would look out toward the Dursley's home, or down Privet drive while the other looked at the object, then they would switch jobs. What were they looking at? They seemed to be touching it at times, almost as if they were trying to follow directions on some map.

_A map._

Harry froze and dropped into a crouch immediately, causing some small pebbles to grind against the street beneath him. Both of the Aurors' jerked up and looked about before turning back to look back at the map. Was it like his map? Could they seem him? Harry's heart was beating quite fast, and he had to remind himself that even if they could, it wasn't like he was in any danger. The worst he'd have to face would be a pair of Aurors laughing at him.

If they had already seen him, he had nothing to lose, so Harry continued slowly creeping across the street, and finally onto the curb right in front of them. If they knew where he was, they were hiding it well. Harry paid particular attention to their faces as they scanned the area. They seemed to be looking through him, and they seemed to be doing it in an automatic, mechanical manner.

Harry squinted to try and see the map they were using, but it was hidden in even murkier shadows than the rest of the street. It was flat, and seemed to have a number of small knobs on it. Harry took a single, quiet step forward, bringing him to about twenty feet from the Aurors. As one scanned the night sky, the other reached down to the map, and pushed one of the knobs forward with a smirk on his face. Harry's jaw dropped as he watched the knob pick up another, smaller knob and toss it from the map.

They were playing chess.

Stafford turned to look down at the board and his ejected piece, and frowned slightly. He stared at the board as Montnor looked around, his eyes passing over Harry without stopping for an instant. Harry inched forward over the next few minutes, getting closer and closer. When he was just less twenty feet from them he had to stop. If he got any closer, they'd be sure to see his footsteps in the grass. From where he stood on a patch of packed earth, he could see the chessboard clearly.

He came up with an idea. He slowly picked up a small rock nearby. It wasn't original, but it was effective. He tossed it high into the air and down the street. The effect was perfect. It produced a clear _clack_, followed by the same sound repeated and moving away from the Aurors. They immediately jumped to their feet and stepped out toward the street.

For a moment, Harry was certain he'd failed, as Stafford had passed within inches of him, and was now standing less than eight feet from Harry. He'd hear if Harry used a charm. For a moment he struggled with his own conscience. He _could_ do it without a charm, but it would feel wrong. His plan hadn't involved them being so close. Slowly, he realized that he really wanted to know if he really could do it.

Slowly, he raised his hand toward the chess board. He tried to remember the dreams he'd had, the time Vernon had yelled at him, and all the times when things had simply jumped to his hand. He focused on Montnor's king, and just as the Aurors were turning to ignore the noise, the chess piece leapt off the board and landed softly in the grass between the board and Harry.

The Aurors returned and slowly took their seats on either side of the board. Harry concentrated again and again, and after a couple tries, the chess piece was within reach. He grabbed it and slowly started stepping away from them. They would eventually notice and come looking for him. Harry felt the pavement under his feet, and slowly put the piece down. His mischief achieved, he quietly circled around and started making his way back to the Aurors. It didn't take him long, and he looked for any sign that the Auror's noticed the missing piece. When he was within only a few feet the tree behind Montnor, he heard Stafford's voice.

"Hey! What's this? Did you—"

"Quiet!" hissed Montnor. "We're not alone." His partner froze and looked suddenly tense.

"Is it—"

"No, I don't think so," the older Auror whispered. "That sound we heard was a rock bouncing on the street. Potter did the same thing last night. Must have thought we'd fall for that again."

"Where is he, do you think?"

"In this haze? He could be anywhere, but he must have been pretty far away for us to not see the Summoning Charm."

"You want to teach him a lesson about playing with Aurors?"

"I like him," Montnor said with a chuckle, "but he's no Auror. I know a few tricks he doesn't." The Auror jumped to his feet, and pointed his wand into the sky.

"_Luminus Oublio!_"

Harry flinched as the chess piece he'd left on the pavement suddenly blazed forth with a warm orange glow. The Aurors leapt toward it and were staring into the murky night trying to find any trace of him. Harry felt a twinge of adrenaline and quickly lunged toward the chess board, scooping up all of the pieces.

"Bloody hell!" Stafford hissed. "How did he summon it here?"

"He didn't," the other Auror said with some frustration. "He put it here. There are his footsteps." Stafford stepped back away from the pavement, as if the bushes around him were about to jump him. "Where is he? Where did he go?"

"How would I know?" hissed Montnor. "If you'd stop trampling the ground, maybe we could find out." Together they searched around the ground, but couldn't tell Harry's footprints from their own. It wasn't helped by the fact that Harry was walking around trying to avoid them while dropping chess pieces wherever they had just been.

"It's impossible," the older one finally said. "We've fouled it all up. There are footprints everywhere."

"Magnus, look!" the younger one gasped. "The pieces. They're all gone." Harry choked on a laugh as he heard both of the Aurors cursing him. He couldn't keep himself hidden much longer. He slunk to the far side of the tree, and quickly pulled off his Cloak, rolled it up and stuffed it into one of his pockets.

"_Lumino Oublius!_"

Harry let out a sharp laugh as thirty chess pieces scattered around the tree bathed the area in a warm glow.

"Bloody hell. We're sacked for sure," Harry heard Clarence Stafford whisper. "Shacklebolt will have our heads,"

"Harry?" Montnor called out. "Where are you?"

Harry walked out from behind the tree, holding Stafford's glowing king. He placed it on the chessboard, and then tipped it over.

"Yes, Harry. Checkmate," the Auror laughed as he looped his wand through the air, causing all the chess pieces to stop glowing and leap back to the board. Then, before Harry could react, the wand was pointed at him, and he felt like he'd been doused with icy cold water.

He started to turn and dive away, but stopped short when he realized he wasn't at all wet. He looked back at the Auror, who was laughing.

"Distraction Charm, Potter. We can't have you standing about in wizard robes, can we?"

Harry sat against the tree while the Aurors packed up their chessboard. Harry had promised (willingly, of course) that he wouldn't run off and tell Kingsley Shacklebolt about what had happened. He'd also refused to tell them how he'd done it.

After the joke he played, the Aurors seemed a bit reluctant to talk about much else. Harry tried to get them to share any more information they had with him, but they claimed there wasn't anything else to share. They questioned him lightly about his visions. Stafford kept quiet mostly, letting Magnus Montnor ask most of the questions.

"And you only get these _visions_ when you're asleep?"

"All of them except one. Except the one that told me what was going to happen to that family."

Montnor looked thoughtful. He gave Harry a piercing glare. "Does it hurt when you get them?"

"Do you mean 'Does it hurt more'?" Harry asked. When he only got confused looks from the Aurors, he tried to explain. "I don't notice it much anymore, but my scar hurts pretty much constantly. It's not much more than a dull pressure right now," he said as he gently rubbed it, "but it's been getting worse, and the times when it gets really bad are happening more often."

The Aurors seemed to give each other significant looks, but didn't ask much more. They continued to talk lightly. Stafford turned out to be quite the Quidditch fan. Harry decided he'd not tell Ron that Stafford was yet another Tornadoes fan.

As he sat and listened to Stafford give him a rather detailed account of the current standings, he felt a slight warmth in his stomach. He froze. Was Voldemort up to something?

"What's the matter, Harry?" Montnor asked as he watched Harry closely. "You're looking a bit pale."

"Er... Nothing... My friend, he... er... He's a Cannons fans," Harry said, hoping it would make sense.

"Well, I'd feel ill if I were a Chudley fan, too," Stafford laughed. "They'll be lucky if they can end the season with any respect, much less the Cup."

The feeling seemed to fade, and Harry tried to forget it. The Aurors seemed to relax, and Stafford returned to his description of the league standings and who had to lose to who by how many points. Just when Harry had almost written off the feeling, he felt it again. Unless it was just the paranoia, he would have sworn it was stronger this time.

Instinctively he put a hand on his stomach and felt that it was actually warm. And flat. It was the Mirror. It felt just like the coins Hermione had made for the D.A. The rest would grow warm whenever he set the date on his. The Mirror must work the same way. Harry quickly stood up, surprising the two Aurors and causing them stand up in response.

"What is it, Harry?" Montnor asked urgently. "Is something happening?"

"No, it's..." Harry started as he tried to think up an explanation. "My stomach. It's not feeling all that well. The Muggles gave me cold food."

Clarence Stafford started rummaging through the large bag behind him. "A little bit of Saul's Stomach Serum, will fix that right up." A moment later he was holding out a small vial of opaque green liquid. Harry stared at it dubiously. The thought of drinking it was enough to make Harry feel sick enough to need it.

"I probably just need rest," Harry said trying to back away.

"And this doesn't have anything to do with ... Voldemort?" Montnor forced him self to say.

"No," Harry said honestly. "No, just bad food." He reached for the vial and pocketed it next to the mirror which was already cool again. "I'm sure this will help."

The Aurors watched him carefully as he walked back across the street to Number Four Privet Drive. His mind was completely focused on the Mirror and whoever was on the other end. Was Lupin trying to talk to him? He'd certainly just Apparate there if it was that urgent.

What if it was Ginny?

Harry felt his heart beating just a bit harder. Was it even possible? He didn't know what to expect. What if someone else found Ginny's mirror? His mind raced through the possibilities.

By the time he reached the door, he'd made up his mind. If Ginny didn't have the mirror, then he wouldn't be able to contact her. If the Order found out about it and was making her use it, then there was nothing Harry could do to help. But if she was trying to contact him...

He walked through the door and closed it. As he started up the stairs, he heard Petunia's voice from the living room.

"Vernon? Did you hear something?"

Harry panicked. The Dursleys didn't know he'd left. He'd be doing chores all day the next day if they found him sneaking back in. Harry tried to quietly walk up the stairs before anyone saw him. It probably wouldn't matter. They'd already blamed him for a power outage and a ripped package they'd gotten in the post.

To his horror, Harry heard heavy footsteps approaching— from the top of the stairs. Harry looked down and realized he was still wearing his robes. If the Dursleys saw him wearing them he'd be lucky if they didn't burn them on the spot. Harry looked up and froze as he saw Vernon stomping down the stairs looking only slightly annoyed. He showed no sign of stopping as he approached Harry, and Harry was forced to flatten himself against the wall at the last second as Vernon walked right past him.

"What was that, Petunia dear?" he called out.

Petunia appeared at the entrance to the living room, and looked directly at Vernon, who was only feet away from Harry. "I thought I heard something. You don't think Harry's out of his room?"

"No, I just checked it. The boy's door hasn't opened since I brought him yesterday's leftovers. He's lucky he even got that, the ungrateful whelp. It was probably just wind or the stairs creaking."

Petunia shrugged and seemed to look about for a bit, as if she'd thought she'd seen something, but finally turned and walked back into the living room. Vernon finished walking down the stairs and followed her, leaving Harry plastered against the wall above the fifth and sixth step. He stayed still for a moment, trying to understand what just happened. The answer came soon enough: the Distraction Charm. It must still be active.

* * *

Ginny sat in her room trying to decide exactly what she should do. She told herself that she could trust Dumbledore, but some part of her was still questioning his desire to help her purposefully break a rule that she'd promised to follow.

He'd spent some time teaching her how to silence her room in a way that wouldn't be obvious to the others in Grimmauld Place. Then he cast some charm that he claimed would prevent Mad-Eye Moody from watching her in her room. He'd said that he'd already done it to most of the bedrooms in the house, on the premise that pretty much everyone wanted some privacy from the retired Auror.

If Dumbledore couldn't get some privacy from Moody, then no one could. She concluded that she didn't have much of a choice. If she planned on using the Mirror, there wasn't anything more that she could do to keep it a secret. She'd simply have to trust Dumbledore. However, she didn't have to abandon all precautions.

Ginny walked to her trunk and pulled out her Charms text. It wasn't her largest book, but no one would believe she was willingly reading up on goblin rebellions and the history of magical plant gathering. She sat down on her bed, opened her book and then pulled the Mirror out of her pocket and placed it in the book.

She looked directly at the Mirror, and softly addressed it:

"Harry Potter, please."

She felt slightly silly, and half expected the Mirror to do nothing and find the whole Order in her room and laughing at her a moment later. However, she flinched as she saw her reflection swirl away to darkness. The Mirror remained dark for a moment, and then slowly her reflection appeared again.

She looked around the room suspiciously, then quickly slammed her book on the Mirror and dropped it into her trunk quickly. She sat down on her desk and started pretending to be writing a letter to a friend. A minute later when no one jumped out of her closet or knocked on her door, she began wondering just what had happened.

The Mirror had done something. It didn't seem like a joke. The Mirror had actually heard her and tried to do something. She put down her quill, and fetched the Charms book again. She opened it to the Mirror and stared at it for a bit. Why wouldn't it work? Did she do something wrong?

She stared at it again, and called out in a clear, loud voice:

"Harry Potter!"

The Mirror went dark again, and for a moment she thought she saw the darkness shift a bit before her reflection returned. It wasn't working. Was there something wrong? Why wasn't it showing her Harry?

She wasn't worrying about being overheard anymore. She'd begun to worry if something was wrong with Harry. What if the Mirror was working, but he wasn't able to answer? What if he was in danger? Should she tell the Order?

Ginny paced around her room trying to decide what to do. If she told Lupin, he'd have to tell the Order about the Mirror, and she'd never be able to talk to Harry again. But if Harry really was in trouble, she'd never forgive herself for not telling someone. She toppled onto her bed, and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

She felt ill. Why did it matter if she didn't talk to Harry for the next five weeks? She tried not to think of an answer to that question. There shouldn't be an answer. She'd spent every other summer not talking to Harry. Harry was just Ron's best friend. The only reason this summer was different was because she'd been willing to help him when no one else would. Perhaps help was just what he needed now, and she might be the only one who knew. That was the whole point, wasn't it? She knew what she had to do, but couldn't understand why it was so painful to admit.

She looked over at the desk where the Mirror still lay in the book. She had to do something. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and scowled at her door. She was angry at herself for being selfish, and even angrier at the world for putting her in this position. She hated Moody for how he treated Harry, Dumbledore for isolating him, and Voldemort for not dying when he was meant to.

Dragging her feet as if they were made of stone, she walked to the book, took the mirror from it, and then threw it at her wall with a frustrated shout. She paused to catch her breath and wipe a tear that was disobediently sliding down her cheek. With her jaw set, she walked out of her room to the railing overlooking the stairs. After a couple failed attempts, she finally got control over her voice:

"Lupin?"

A moment later, Remus Lupin's head poked above the floor as he climbed the stairs. Ginny's heart raced as he looked at her. She wanted to turn and run, or take Ron's broom and fly to Little Whinging herself, but her feet remained where they were. She had to tell him. If Harry was in trouble, Lupin needed to know. She tried to speak, but her throat wasn't cooperating.

"He— Something..." she said hoarsely. "Something's wrong. He's not there." She reluctantly pulled the Mirror from her pocket and showed it to him. Lupin looked concerned for a moment, and quickly climbed the remaining stairs and walked over to her.

Then, just as she held it out to show him, she saw light glint off the Mirror in the dim hallway. A faint voice seemed to come from it. A voice that Ginny and Remus Lupin immediately recognized:

"Ginny? Are you there?"

Lupin's eyes opened wide, but he could not have been as surprised as Ginny. She turned the Mirror toward her and saw Harry Potter staring back at her, looking quite confused. Lupin pulled out his wand and pointed Ginny back to her room. As Ginny ran back into her room, she heard a rough voice calling up from the stairs.

"Remus? Everything alright up there?"

Lupin closed Ginny's door after giving her a quick smile and a encouraging nod. From the other side of the door, Ginny heard him calling back.

"Nothing to worry about, Moody. Ginny's just found one of those escaped doxies. I took care of it."

Ginny slumped against the door, trying to relax. She looked down into the Mirror and saw Harry's face. He looked even more concerned than he had a few seconds ago. Ginny looked at the Mirror, unsure of exactly how she should talk to it. Finally, she just spoke as if Harry were in the room with her.

"Are you okay, Harry?"

Harry looked back at her oddly. "Spiffing. Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. Just a bit rattled," Ginny replied.

"Are you alone?" Harry asked, his voice sounding more serious.

"Yes. Dumbledore helped me with the charms. Are you?"

Harry felt a surge of relief at being able to speak to Ginny. Yet, at the same time he felt distinctly uncomfortable. As he looked into Ginny's face he felt odd. It was like being happy, nervous and guilty all at once. She looked different. She didn't look quite so much like Ron's little sister anymore. She looked older. Maybe it was because he couldn't see how tall she was. Or maybe it was the loose ponytail she had her hair in. Perhaps he simply had more respect for her now. He felt a bit unsure about how to treat her, but even more, he felt the desire to keep his thoughts to himself.

"Harry?"

Harry jumped a little and looked around, as if he were afraid someone were watching. He had nothing to worry about, of course. Even if Vernon walked in, he would have completely ignored Harry.

"What?" Harry said as he came back to the present.

"You, er... You were just kinda staring off..."

"Oh, sorry," he apologized. "I guess I'm not sure just what to do with these things."

Ginny agreed and complained lightly about the complete lack of information she'd gotten from Lupin and Dumbledore. "I mean, how am I supposed to know when you want to talk to me?" Harry explained to her about how the Mirror had felt warm earlier that night, and she happily confirmed that she had tried to talk to him twice.

So that was it, it seemed. Sirius and James must have used a charm similar to the one Hermione had found for the D.A. coins. It made Harry feel a little better about his father to know that he and Sirius at least showed a good amount of talent and cleverness. Even the Ravenclaws had been impressed with Hermione's work on the coins.

"So...er... am I just supposed to carry it with me wherever I go?" Harry asked hesitantly. "I mean, they aren't indestructible, and I can't really carry mine with me wherever I go."

"No," agreed Ginny, "and it's not like I'll be able to talk to whenever I want." She sat silent in thought for a moment. "Alright. Here's how we'll do this. I'll check in with you every night, at... er... about this time. I've been going to sleep about now, but I'll stay up and pass on anything I've heard that day. Is that too late?"

"I don't sleep much," Harry said before thinking. Ginny gave him a piteous look, but said nothing. "I'll be fine. What am I supposed to do if I... learn something during the day?"

"You won't be able to wait until that night?"

Harry cringed and gave her a meaningful look. "It might be a bit more urgent than that."

Ginny seemed to understand, and nodded. "Right. Well... Moody probably won't notice me carrying a mirror in my pocket. Lupin might help, as well. If you need to talk to me, give it a try. If I can talk, I will. If not, I'll find a way to get somewhere I can and then I'll try back," she explained, seeming impressed with her own plan. "So don't you go running off before talking with me," she added sternly.

Harry smiled back at her. The two of them simply sat looking at each other. Harry felt almost immediately awkward. What was he supposed to do now? Ginny seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"So... er..." Harry started.

"Right... What— Is there anything new?" Ginny eventually said.

Harry's face twisted in confusion. "Why are you asking me? I'm the one no one talks to, remember?"

"Right," Ginny winced. Harry thought he detected a slight blush in her cheeks. "So where should I start?"

Harry's discomfort intensified a little as he tried to think of someplace to begin. The reality of what he was doing hit him, and he began to feel guilty for sneaking around behind the backs of Moody and Lupin (not to mention Ron and Hermione). However, his own need for information, and the knowledge that it had been Dumbledore's idea encouraged him enough to ask the question he'd been wondering for a whole year.

"What is Snape up to?"

"Skulking, mostly," Ginny answered with a smile. She told Harry about how furious Snape had been since they'd heard about Lucius being left behind in Azkaban.

"That was how he was spying on the Death Eaters," Harry thought out loud. Ginny said that no one really said that for certain, but that it was what everyone believed.

"He still spies on them on occasion, we think," she added. "Hermione thinks he has to use Polyjuice Potion now. He spends most of his time in the cellars."

After that, Ginny tried to think of all the things she'd heard over the past few meetings the Order had been holding in the parlor. She told him about Kingsley Shacklebolt getting appointed as the head of a team of Aurors whose sole job was to protect wizards from the Death Eaters. Exactly what that meant was a bit uncertain at the moment, though it seemed there was some agreement made between Shacklebolt and Dumbledore.

She tried to remember the names and dates of all the Death Eater appearances. However, the news Harry found more disturbing was all the Death Eater disappearances. One by one, they seemed to be disappearing, usually leaving their families behind. It seemed that they were gathering, and if what Harry had seen was correct, their numbers were growing.

Ginny continued by rattling off a number of odd things she'd overheard. None of them sounded terribly interesting or terribly important. She was trying her best to remember everything she could, but after a while Harry lost interest.

"Is something wrong?" Ginny asked when she noticed the dazed look on Harry's face. "Oh! It's late. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up, I just—"

"No!" he interrupted her. "No, it's not that. I... I don't need much sleep really. Used to it by now. I just... " Harry tried to think of how to explain it. It sounded so embarrassing and pathetic in his mind.

"What is it Harry?"

"No, it's fine. Maybe I should get some sleep."

Ginny's eyes narrowed, managing to look worried and surprised at the same time. "No, that's not it. You were going to ask me to do something... What was it?"

"It's really nothing..." Harry said.

"No, it's not," Ginny said, seemingly surprised at her own boldness. "What is it, Harry?"

Harry stared at her and forced himself to swallow. In a low voice he tried to find the best way to explain it.

"No one talks to me."

"I know, Harry," Ginny said in a sympathetic voice. "I've been trying to tell you everything I know. The Mirrors will help. You'll see. I promise, I'll tell you whatever—"

"—No—" Harry stopped her. He winced with the embarrassment of having to explain it so plainly. "No one talks to me. The Dursleys only talk to me to tell me what chores to do. Lupin and Arthur only talk to me to check up on me. Ron and Hermione rarely write. I just spent a half hour talking to two Aurors because they are the only ones who have been willing to discuss anything other than Voldemort." Ginny looked crestfallen, and it only made Harry feel worse.

"Oh Harry, I'm sorry. I— I bet I can get Ron to write to you more. Hermione might as well. It might take a while but—"

"But—" Harry interrupted her again. "What about... Couldn't I just talk with you?"

Ginny's eyes popped open and she seemed to mumble a bit before she finally forced herself to reply. "Er... Yeah, I guess... I just didn't figure that you'd... well, you know."

"You're the only one who seemed to even care," Harry replied quietly.

Ginny stared back at him in her Mirror for a moment before a smile broke across her face. A moment later she was talking about all sorts of odd things that had happened since the start of holidays. She told him about the twins' joke shop and all the new things they'd created. She told him about Ron's heartbreak at the performance of the Chudley Cannons, and how Hermione had gotten tired of his moping and stopped talking to him for a day.

Eventually Harry joined in, asking questions and making comments about the things Ginny was telling him. It felt amazing to just have someone else to talk to. Slowly, both of them relaxed into conversation, and it seemed as if they had been talking for years instead of weeks.

"Tonks has been spending a lot of time with Hermione and me. I think she gets tired of having to hang around Kingsley and Moody all day."

"She still didn't know that Dean was your boyfriend," Harry added casually.

"What?" Ginny asked sharply.

"She asked if there was a boy you liked, and I told her about Dean," Harry answered, somewhat less confident about this statement than the one just before it.

Ginny seemed suddenly nervous and irritated. "He's not my boyfriend. We went out a couple times... and, er... well, it was right before the end of term. It really wasn't anything."

"But you told Ron—"

"I know," Ginny said as she covered her face with her free hand. "I was just trying to annoy Ron. He was being a prat about Michael. He said something, and I reacted. It's really nothing. We just talked in the Library a couple of times."

"Oh..." Harry said, not quite understanding what the difference was. Had Cho been his girlfriend? He'd thought so for a little bit, but it wasn't like they actually did much together. "I'm sorry. I guess I just figured—"

"Don't be sorry," Ginny replied. "It was my fault. It's really nothing. Please don't think... I mean— I don't want you to think that I'm..." Ginny groaned in frustration. "Can we talk about something else?"

Harry smiled and obliged her, and started asking her about Quidditch. She cheered him up by letting him in on some information he hadn't heard yet: Lupin had gotten Harry's lifelong ban from Quidditch officially lifted. Even without the official word from the governors, Harry had figured that Dumbledore would let him play, but it was reassuring to hear that it was official as well.

"If that's the case, I'll probably need some new gloves and guards for the next year. I think I've completely outgrown the ones I have. I don't think I'll ever want another broom."

Ginny seemed to enjoy that topic better and they continued talking about the next year's Quidditch season and how it might go. Without realizing it, Harry discovered that he'd been talking with Ginny for hours and that it was now already early morning. He reluctantly ended the conversation to ask for sleep.

"I had one more favor to ask," Harry said before Ginny left. She looked slightly worried but asked what the favor was. Harry looked toward his trunk of books and other supplies. "I need to find a way to end a Distraction Charm. It's great for now, but if Vernon doesn't see me, I may never get any more food."

* * *

Just like she'd promised, Ginny contacted him the next night. Harry sat at his desk, slogging his way through _Potions of Power_, and waiting for some sign from the mirror. At just about the same time they'd started last night, Harry saw a faint flash from the mirror followed by a soft glow. He picked it up, and Ginny's smiling face was in the reflection.

She'd spent the first half hour explaining in more detail what the Order had been up to. Unlike the previous night, Harry asked many questions.

Ginny had also given him a quick update on Percy, in case Ron made any comments. It seemed that Percy had managed to stick around, even after Fudge's hasty departure. It hadn't had a very positive effect on his career, however. He was currently employed permanently as the Court Scribe (a demotion which he refused to admit). He still didn't trust Dumbledore, but he didn't openly oppose him either. However, his reversal of opinion stopped there. He still avoided Arthur, and refused to have any doings with the Order.

Harry had listened politely, but he wasn't really interested in what Percy was getting up to or problems in Auror recruitment or the troubles the Ministry was having with the goblins running Gringott's. He wanted to know what Dumbledore had been up to.

Unfortunately, it seemed that whatever it was Dumbledore had been doing, he'd been keeping it quite secret, and he'd only rarely shown up at Grimmauld Place. Harry found this both encouraging and discouraging. He'd have liked to know what was being done, but he took some comfort in knowing that _something_ was being done.

Soon Ginny ran out of news. After an awkward pause, she started talking about other things. The twins had come by that day and were asking anyone who knew Harry if they had ideas for things for Harry's birthday.

Harry had to toss a few scrolls of parchment from his desk to find a calendar. It was only a week away. "I'd forgotten completely. Too busy to notice, I guess," he said with a hint of disappointment.

"How can you forget your own birthday?" Ginny asked lightly, hoping to keep Harry's spirits up.

"It's not as hard as you'd think. It's almost easy when you're the only one who really cares."

"That's not true, Harry," Ginny said sympathetically. "I'll remember. The twins remembered. So will Ron and Hermione. Lupin will help us get your presents past the Aurors. It wouldn't be any fun to have them open them for you."

It was supposed to cheer Harry up, but that thought reminded him of just how unfair the whole situation was. Ginny realized her mistake, and tried to move on to other subjects that were a little lighter.

Eventually, they both decided to go to sleep. The next night, Harry sat at his desk again, waiting patiently for the faint flash of Ginny contacting him. Night after night, he'd wait for the flash of his Mirror, listen to whatever reports Ginny had, and then they'd spend the rest of the night talking about whatever they could find to discuss.

Ginny didn't mention his birthday again, and Harry was somewhat thankful. He was now painfully aware of how close it was, and he hoped that someone else would notice, even if it were just Ginny. The night before his birthday, he tried mentioning his birthday, but Ginny just got a worried look on her face and changed the subject.

* * *


	11. The Long Awaited Birthday

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 11 - The Long Awaited Birthday**

* * *

Harry woke up early on the day of his birthday. He hoped to see owls waiting for him when he looked out the window, but there was nothing. His mirror was on the floor, but it was silent and only reflected his own disappointed face.

He tried to convince himself that it was silly to hope for such things. He knew that his friends probably wanted to send him gifts, but they wouldn't risk sending the owls to his window. The two Aurors were still outside and he knew they would report just such an occurrence, Even if it was his birthday.

He sulked in his room a bit before finally getting ready for the day. He wondered if the Dursleys would remember, and if they did remember what they would do about it.

When he finally walked into the kitchen to try and find something for breakfast he was met by all of the Dursleys sitting around the table. He sat down with an apple and a small glass of juice. Dudley smirked but said nothing. Petunia turned away from him, and Vernon shook his morning paper noisily and raised it to hide his face.

So that's the way it'll be, Harry thought as he quietly ate his breakfast. After finishing the juice, he took what remained of the apple and started walking out of the kitchen.

"Oh, Harry," Vernon said in a falsely kind voice, "There is something I wanted to talk to you about this morning." Harry stopped, and gave his uncle an uncertain look.

"I want the floors scrubbed and waxed," Vernon said with a smile, "And clean the fine china while you're at it."

"You're joking," Harry said with a scowl, "That's what you wanted to talk to me about? Today?"

"Why not today?" Vernon said, looking around the table, "Nothing special about today that I know of." His attempts to hide a smile were failing.

"Fine."

Harry finished his apple and went to fetch what he'd need from the closet under the stairs. He looked around the tiny room. Part of him loathed the place, and yet, part of him wondered if his life would be any better if he were still sleeping there, without any knowledge of how special he was.

He brooded on those thoughts as he scoured the floor in the kitchen. After finishing the kitchen he moved on to the hallway which ran from the front door to the kitchen. Dudley was taking pleasure in walking across the area Harry was working on. Vernon had some important business meeting to attend that afternoon, so of course he had declared that he would need to take off the entire day. He spent his morning watching the television and occasionally checking on Harry. Petunia kept a sharp eye on him from the kitchen where she was inspecting Harry's work, and probably compiling a list of spots to be redone.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Harry instinctively looked up.

"Petunia!" Vernon bellowed from the living room, "Could you get that?"

Harry stood up and started to walk toward the door. He was curious who would come around so early.

"You just keep to your scrubbing," Petunia scolded as she walked by, "None of your kind would ever think to use the doorbell."

Petunia opened the door. Before she could say a thing the visitor had greeted her eagerly. From the hallway, Harry could hear her voice clearly.

"Good morning!"

It was a girl's voice, and it was sickeningly sweet and cheery. Harry tried to keep himself from disliking her for being so impolite as to be happy on his birthday. It wasn't her fault, he reminded himself. She had no idea how wretched the day was.

"I'm here on behalf of the Society for the Defense of Social Normality, and I was wondering if you would be so kind as to donate any money, or items of value to our cause."

Harry groaned and continued scrubbing. Perhaps he really should dislike her. The Dursleys would certainly use this as an opportunity to continue ridiculing him.

"The Society for what?" Petunia asked with obvious bewilderment.

"What is it, Petunia?" Vernon called from the other room.

"Some girl from the Society for... er..."

"—The Defense of Social Normality, sir" the girl finished with loathsome cheer.

Judging by the stomping and creaking of the floorboards, Harry guessed that Vernon had opted to inspect their visitor more closely.

"Never heard of it." Vernon declared in a suspicious, yet curious tone.

"And that's why we so urgently need your support," the girl retorted so brightly that Harry winced. Did people like that really exist? Harry admitted that there truly were people in the world who deserved a little violence in their lives. Where was Dudley when you needed him?

'Aren't you a bit young to be collecting donations?" Petunia asked.

"Oh, no one is too young to help fight for the improvement of society," she replied. "Now, you live in a proper neighborhood, but where I grew up, there were loads of all sorts of odd people." The girls voice dropped to an ominous tone. "People with frogs as pets, bizarrely colored hair, and the oddest of hobbies. I knew one gentleman who claimed he had been a canary and another who would hold regular conversations with the pavement."

"Do you still live there?" Petunia asked. Harry wondered if that was fear he heard in her voice.

"Of course not," the girl said with a clear laugh. Harry instinctively stopped what he was doing, but didn't know why. The girl continued, sounding scandalized. "What sort of parents would raise their child in such a place? One day, a man in dark robes came to our door." She spoke as if telling a story to a group of toddlers. Harry tried to ignore her. "He waved a stick at us spouting some rubbish about wanting to use our fireplace. That was it for us. Moved that very month."

Harry was listening intently now. She had seen a wizard. Where had she been? What would Vernon and Petunia do?

"Yes, well your parents were quite right to do that," Uncle Vernon said proudly. "Exactly what I would do. Can't abide all that weirdness."

"It's unnatural," Petunia added in a slightly panicked voice.

"Quite right," the girl agreed, "When I saw this house I was certain it had to be the home of a proper, normal family. My parents have influence with some powerful people in the government. Can you spare a few pounds to help support our cause? Something really must be done," she said with gentle urgency.

There was silence for a moment, then the girl continued. "Just think of the children of all those abnormal people. They only end up burdening good families like you with their laziness."

That was it. Harry hadn't even seen her but he'd decided he didn't like her. She was like a young and sickeningly happy version of Aunt Marge. Harry forced himself to relax and stay calm. The last thing he needed was to blow up some girl with Aurors across the street.

"She's quite right, Petunia. We already take care of one of them," Vernon huffed. "On vacation from St. Brutus', of course."

"Oh? Here? Now?" the girl asked. She made it sound like the Dursleys were keeping a rabid animal as a pet. Harry found himself creeping toward the door. Despite his earlier decision, he wanted to get a glimpse of the visitor. He'd already imagined her as a younger, more arrogant version of Petunia, but it would make it easier for him to despise her later if he knew how to correctly picture her turning into a toad and being kicked repeatedly.

"Yes, he's doing chores right now," Vernon explained. "It's the only way to keep him in line. As for your charity, I can't think of any better use of a few spare pounds," he said, mimicking her cheeriness.

"Would you mind if I came in, then?" she asked politely. "I was always taught not to linger on the doorstep, and I wouldn't want your neighbors to think anything odd about it."

"Of course, dear," Petunia said.

The three of them were walking toward him on their way to the living room. As Vernon passed by Harry immediately went back to scrubbing the floor. Out of the corner of his eye saw Vernon enter the living room, dwarfing the girl who was wearing a hat and a crisp plaid school uniform. She was probably the spoiled daughter of rich parents. Like Dudley, he thought, and instead of being obese she was annoying, but to the same degree.

"That was him in the hall, was it?" the girl asked cheerily. Her voice really was starting to remind Harry of Delores Umbridge. He was disgusted by the thought of a girl so young already acting like both Petunia and Umbridge.

"Yes," Vernon apologized. "I'm terribly sorry. We don't usually let him out when we have guests."

"Don't they have combs at St. Brutus'?" the girl squeaked.

Harry scowled. He had put up with quite a bit from his relatives over the years, but now strangers were coming here to ridicule him as well. He really needed to leave this place.

"Apparently not," Vernon replied. "And here is thirty pounds. That's thirty pounds well spent, I say."

"Thank you very much. I'm sure my parents will be will be overjoyed with your generosity." Harry could hear the smile in her voice and it made him feel ill. "I don't suppose he would talk to me?" she asked sweetly.

"Well... er... He's prone to outbursts and babbling, I don't know—"

"Oh, please? You seem like perfectly normal people. He can't be all that bad," she argued. "He's not going to attack me, is he? I assume you've at least trained him to pretend to be civil."

That was it. Harry stood up. He wasn't some zoo creature to be poked at for other's amusement. He started walking for the stairs. He would take his trunk and make his way to Grimmauld Place. Vernon couldn't stop him, and he probably wouldn't try if he had his wand.

"Boy! Where do you think you're going?" Vernon called from behind him. Harry didn't even turn to look at him.

"I'm leaving."

"You're what?" Petunia squawked.

"I'm going away. Make Dudley scrub the floor," Harry said as he turned to climb the stairs. Suddenly he froze as a sound cut through the air.

"_Hem Hem_."

Harry instinctively reached for his wand, though it wasn't there. Did Delores Umbridge have a daughter? He turned to look at the girl who had made the noise, and his jaw dropped.

"Close your mouth!" Vernon commanded. "It's not like this is the first girl you've seen. Don't they have girls at your school?"

"They have girls at St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys?" the girl asked, while batting her eyelashes at Uncle Vernon.

"Well—er— I didn't mean..." he stumbled, "I assume that...er..."

"They do," Harry answered. "Some of them are really brilliant."

Ginny Weasley smiled as her face reddened slightly. She walked toward him. "Happy Birthday, Harry." Her voice was much different now, and Harry recognized it immediately.

"What— Who— What is this?" Vernon mumbled.

"Why are you here?" Harry asked, ignoring Vernon as he tried to get Harry and Ginny's attention by stuttering and turning red.

"Because it's your birthday, Harry," she said as if Harry had forgotten. "Tonks, Lupin and Shacklebolt are nearby. We came to sneak you out."

"Sneak me out?"

"Of course. The Aurors are still watching you. Dumbledore doesn't want them to know about..." she glanced at the Dursleys, "... _that_ place. So we came to sneak you out."

Ginny tossed her hat on the ground and loosened the tie around her neck. Finally, she pulled her wand out of her sleeve, making Petunia shriek and Vernon's mouth drop open.

"Put that away!" he yelled. "How dare you! I'll not have another... another... _freak_ in my house waving...one of _those_ about." Vernon's face was red, and he strode toward Ginny with his hand already getting ready to grab her wand.

Vernon was angrier than Harry had ever seen him. Suddenly he was worried that Vernon wouldn't stop. He reached for his wand again, but found it still wasn't in his pocket. He'd left it in his room. Vernon was roaring in anger as he crossed the living room toward Ginny.

Images flashed in his mind. He imagined Vernon breaking Ginny's wand, and shoving her to the floor. Suddenly a venomous rage filled him, and he felt power coursing through his body.

"Vernon, _STOP!_" he shouted, rattling the lamps in the living room.

But Vernon had already stopped. Ginny was standing in front of him, with her wand jabbing right into his chest. Harry had spoken with such power that even Ginny turned and looked at him.

Vernon backed away from Ginny and Harry as if two wild animals had found their way into his home. Petunia remained on the couch but had moved into the corner, as if she hoped she wouldn't be noticed.

"Boy, go to your room," Vernon said. His voice was even and restrained. He slowly turned to Ginny, "And as for you, you'd best leave before I'm forced to throw you out."

"Don't you even _dare_ threaten me!" Ginny shouted to Vernon's crimson face. "And Harry is coming with me."

"He will not," said Vernon, "He will finish his chores and remain in his room for the rest of the day. While he lives in my house, I'll not stand for him running about with you lot!"

"He _is_ coming with me," she replied quietly, "but I'd love to see you try and stop me."

Vernon sneered at her and forced out a laugh, "You aren't allowed to... do what you do outside of that school of yours."

"_Herpemorphus!_" Ginny shouted, and suddenly the rug under Petunia's feet rolled up and sprouted short legs as it quickly turned into a rather large lizard. After a quick glance at its surroundings, it turned and began hissing at Petunia.

Ginny smiled at the successful transfiguration, then waved dismissively at the Dursley's. "Explain that to your new pet."

While Uncle Vernon brandished the poker from the fireplace at the lizard, Ginny retrieved a small envelope from a pocket and tossed it to Harry.

"There's a Portkey inside. It will take you to the party," she said. Then her expression turned to one of disappointment, "...but you'll have to come back tonight. We just can't risk the Aurors finding out."

Harry was wrestling with his own emotions. He had been so angry with the Dursleys, and suddenly he was getting everything he had wanted. His friends had come for him. And of all his friends, it was Ginny, his newfound friend and conspirator who was here and standing up to the Dursleys. He had often wished he could talk to Ginny normally, but now that she was here, he felt distinctly uncomfortable and afraid of talking.

Ginny saw the look on his face and gave him a lopsided smile.

"It's okay, Harry. Everyone is waiting for you."

Harry smiled back but that uncomfortable feeling only got worse. There was something different about Ginny. He'd been talking to her face in the Mirror for quite a while, but now that he looked at her, she didn't seem to be the same Ginny he remembered. She was taller and her face didn't look so young as he remembered it. Her eyes were shining and filled with both happiness and concern. Her hair was sleek and tied back neatly. Her lips were... moving.

"Harry?" she called gently. "Harry, are you listening to me?"

Harry suddenly realized that he had been staring at her. He felt heat creeping across his face, and wished he had any excuse to hide it. He didn't understand why he was so embarrassed, but it seemed to have robbed him of the ability to speak coherently.

"I...er... I was—well..." he mumbled, stumbling over his own thoughts as he tried to find a good answer. He thought he saw a small smile on Ginny's face and growing redness in her cheeks. Harry smiled back and immediately felt lighter and happier. "I guess I wasn't." Ginny laughed. She had an amazing laugh.

"Get your wand. When you get back, you'll open the envelope, and I'll walk out the door. I'll see you there a little later. I'm sure Hermione will explain whatever you missed."

Harry turned and walked up the stairs. When he was no longer visible, Ginny turned to the Dursleys. She trained her wand on Vernon Dursley once more.

"You loathsome, vile bastard," she said in a low voice. "It's his birthday, and you do _this_?"

Petunia sat up, "This is our home and—"

"_Silencio!_"

Petunia's mouth kept moving, but nothing came out. Ginny pointed her wand back at Vernon. "You have no idea what's going on, do you?" she asked.

"I know that you and my ungrateful nephew are _attacking_ my family, and I won't stand for it."

Ginny pointed her wand back at Petunia. "_Finite Incantatem!_" Petunia's face froze in horror, and she instinctively screamed. When she realized that she actually could scream, her face changed to one of confusion and suspicion.

Ginny lowered her voice, and glared at Vernon with all her anger. "Harry deals with things that would have you whimpering in the corner. It may not be long before you're visited by more wizards. _Bad_ wizards. And if that happens, you'd better pray that Harry is around to protect you because I don't think anyone else can."

The color drained out of Vernon's face, and Petunia remained as silent as if Ginny had hexed her again.

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying," Ginny replied, her voice taking on a note of sadness. "It's already started. One family is already dead."

"They already tried," Vernon said firmly. "Our Dudley was already attacked. Why would they try again? Harry didn't—" Vernon started.

"The Dementors?" Ginny whispered. "No... Those weren't sent by the truly bad wizards. I'm talking about the one who killed Harry's parents. If he'd have come for you, you'd already be dead."

"Ginny?" Harry called from the steps, "I heard a scream, is everyone okay?" He had his wand out and seemed to be searching for intruders.

"Yes, Harry," she called back. "I'm afraid everyone is still okay."

"Oh," he replied, sounding almost disappointed. Vernon's eyes opened as large as saucers and he looked at Petunia.

"You didn't do anything to them?" Harry asked.

"Nothing permanent," Ginny laughed. "Open the envelope, Harry. I'll see you there shortly."

Harry put his wand away and opened the envelope. Inside it was a bright red and yellow card with "Happy Birthday, Harry!" written on it. He opened it and read "You are invited to a birthday party at 12 Grimmauld Place—" before he felt the expected tugging on his navel. As he felt his feet leave the floor he felt faintly afraid, as if he had just done something terribly foolish. Number Four Privet Drive disappeared, and he felt his feet buckle as they hit a wooden floor.

* * *

He looked around. It was dark and quiet. The room he was in was quite small and the only light came from under a nearby doorway.

He had no idea where he was. A closet perhaps. It had happened again. It was just like the Triwizard Tournament. He'd been tricked again. Did Ginny know? Had it even been Ginny? Was this the Riddle House? Or perhaps some hideout used by Death Eaters? It didn't matter, he wouldn't just sit here waiting for Death Eaters to find him.

He sprung to his feet and searched for his wand. He found it and was about to try and light up the room, when he heard heavy footsteps headed his way. They were talking quickly and the sound was muffled, but he caught one of them above the rest.

"There! He's in there!"

A moment later, the door opened, revealing a slightly darker shape against the dim room outside the door. Harry had to act quickly or he'd never get out of the closet. He stabbed his wand toward the doorway and shouting, "_Stupefy!_"

The dark shape in the doorway froze, then dropped limply to the floor with a thud. A second shape was already in the doorway, but with a helpless shout it tripped over the first, and was sent sprawling on the floor in front of Harry.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_"

The second shape suddenly stiffened, its arms and legs as stiff and straight as the floor planks it was laying on. He was about to smile at his work, when the room darkened again. A third shape was in the doorway, this one much taller than the others. He could hear more footsteps. He'd never get free. There was no way out of here, and more of them were headed this way. Harry stood up and aimed his wand at the new shape.

"Nice job, Harry," the shape said cheerily. "Been trying to get those two to shut up all day."

"Ron?"

Another shape slid into view. This one was shorter, and had a wavy mass of hair swinging about her head.

"Harry! What did you do to them?" she said as she looked at the shapes on the ground. "_Lumos!_" The room was suddenly lit by her wand as Hermione followed Ron into the small room. On the ground, the motionless bodies of Fred and George lay between her and Harry. Hermione surveyed them with indifference. "Well, it _did_ get them to shut up about your party."

Harry winced at the sight of the twins on the floor. They really had looked like Death Eaters to Harry. With a shrug, he lowered his wand to point at George. "_Finite Incantatem!_"

George's limbs relaxed. He rolled over and sat up, shaking his head. He looked at Harry with some confusion. "What was that for, Harry?" he said massaging his forehead, "And we were even going to let you in on our plans..."

A loud thumping stopped just outside the doorway. Mad-Eye Moody looked in the room with a somewhat frightening smile across his scarred face. "Good work, Potter!" he barked, "See that? Potter's always prepared. Why weren't you two?" he added with a rasping chuckle. He looked at Fred's limp body. "Stunned, is he?"

"I'm afraid so," Harry said quietly, "I just didn't expect to show up in a closet."

Moody was pointing his wand at Fred as he shouted, "_Ennervate!_"

Fred sat up and blinked a couple times before looking to Harry, "That'll teach me to open doors for Harry." He turned to George who was standing near him. "Always wondered what that felt like. It's actually rather like the Fainting Fancies."

"Er... Does anyone know why we're in a closet?" Harry asked, louder this time.

"Because you haven't left yet," Arthur Weasley said from the room. "We're sorry, Harry. Dumbledore let Remus make the Portkeys. I'm afraid he's still learning."

"Well, luckily nothing unexpected happened," Fred said as he stood up and dusted off his clothes. "Speaking of Lupin, where is he? Weren't they Apparating back?"

"No, Ginny is with them," Arthur said, "They're taking a Portkey as well."

"Did Lupin make it?" Harry asked quickly.

"Er... A fine point, Harry," Arthur said before motioning for them all to leave quickly. Ron and Hermione struggled to leave as Moody limped back through the door. George was having some trouble pulling Fred to his feet. As if on cue, there was faint flash of light as Lupin suddenly appeared right in front of Fred. The room went dark, and he fell forward with a shout. Two more people appeared soon afterward, causing George to fall back against Harry as someone steadied themselves against him. Harry and George fell, and Harry had the wind knocked from him as someone tripped over Fred, fell onto Harry and then struggled to stand up.

With a final dull flash, a last figure appeared in the packed closet. Fred (or was it George?) shouted and Harry could barely make out someone falling toward him. Before he could move, the person had landed on his chest. Luckily, this person was much lighter than George. And softer. And they smelled faintly of raspberries.

A bright light blazed from the corner of the closet. From underneath a couple other people, Harry could only see the glow and hear Tonks' voice. "Is everyone— HA!... Is... Oh my—" The light went out, and the closet filled with the sound of Tonks' laughter. In the brief time when there had been light, Harry hadn't been able to see anything but a large amount of flowing red hair.

"TONKS!" growled Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Some light, please?"

"Sorry!" she apologized. "But— You know... It is quite funny." The closet lit up again. "Imagine, all this, and I'm the one still standing."

The light revealed what Harry had already guessed. When Ginny realized who she'd fallen on, she gave a shriek, jumped up, and quickly worked at straightening her skirt. Harry stood up immediately after her, and saw Tonks giving both of them a very curious smile. Harry felt himself blushing furiously, and wished Tonks would just let it go dark again for a while. A quick look at Ginny gave him some relief. She looked the way he felt.

Ginny shuffled along the wall past the pile of people on the floor and stepped through the door with some help from Hermione. Harry decided to stay in the closet until everyone else had left. Tonks stayed with him, lighting the room and giving him odd, knowing looks.

"Sorry about that, everyone," Lupin announced as he stepped out of the closet and proceeded to brush dust off of the trousers he'd been wearing. "The others all worked fine."

The lot of them eventually made their way down to the kitchen and parlor where they had taken to spending much of their time. Dumbledore, Molly Weasley, Mrs. Figg, and a number of other wizards from the Order had assembled around the table, including a smiling Minerva McGonagall.

The entire kitchen had been prepared. A very large cake sat on the table decorated in Gryffindor colors, and over the table letters hung in the air spelling out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!" and raining harmless sparks on the table.

As everyone greeted him with handshakes and firm pats on the back (Hagrid nearly made him choke), Molly and some of the other guests started placing large plates of food on the table. A group of chairs had been reserved for Harry, Ron and Hermione. Next to them sat Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, Arthur and Molly. On the other side of them, Ginny and the twins sat with Charlie and Bill.

Harry wanted to try and make room for Ginny by him, but he knew it would look too suspicious. He felt somewhat troubled. In the past three weeks he'd talked to Ginny more than Ron and Hermione combined, and yet he had to pretend she was only his best friend's sister now. He caught Ginny's eyes and it seemed she understood. Unfortunately, Dumbledore had seen the shared look, and where Tonks had smiled and laughed at them, Dumbledore looked deeply thoughtful instead.

"Harry! Wake up, Harry!" Ron shouted at him. Harry turned back to Ron, slightly annoyed over his loud interruption. Most of the people around the table were standing and and seemed to be heading for a one of the doors. Ginny was already at the door, escorted by the twins, both of which were smirking at Harry. Ron was tugging on Harry's robes, trying to lead him to the door as well, while Hermione just shook her head behind him.

"Hang on, Ron," Harry said as he tried to stand up without knocking his chair to the ground. "You're ripping my robes, you impatient git!"

"Hermione will fix them later!" he said causing Hermione to make an annoyed sound. "You've got gifts to open. Bill and Charlie even have something for you. Come on!"

Ron led Harry to the room which everyone seemed to be calling the parlor. He honestly didn't remember it being there before, but it had seemed that Grimmauld Place had changed quite a bit. His chest tightened a little at the thought that some of the changes were probably Sirius' work. The room was spacious, but not large. There were plenty of places to sit, and there was a large fireplace in the middle of one of the walls. The decorations were distinctly like those found in the Gryffindor common room. This place felt more like home than any other place he'd been. He immediately sat down in a large cushioned chair, with a big smile on his face.

As soon as he sat down, people began bringing him gifts. "We've heard about the Dursleys," Dedalus Diggle explained, "and many of us feel that it's a thing in need of a remedy." He brought a small package to Harry, saying, "Now, you probably shouldn't go on expecting to get all this next year, but, well... there it is." Harry opened the package to reveal a small silver watch. "Detects dark magic, that watch. And tells time, I believe." Harry immediately put the watch on with a grin. "Oh, and it will warn you if you're about to go swimming too soon after a meal." Harry gave his watch an odd look, but thanked Diggle anyways.

Other people came forward to hand gifts to him. Certainly not everyone in the room, as many of them were simply taking a break from their duties to the Order. However, Harry still received more gifts than he had ever received on his birthday. Among other smaller presents, he got a wand care kit as well as a handsome oak case for his wand, a pair of self-sizing and magically waterproof shoes, a rather large, floppy hat that he reluctantly wore for some time, and a bottle of Wooten's Rearranging Ink, which would try to rearrange the words written with it into other less meaningful sentences.

Professor McGonagall had given him his own pair of dragon hide gloves. "You'll want those for all the Potions work you'll be doing," she had said with a stern yet cheerful glare. Charlie and Bill presented him with a long, glittering knife. It managed to look expensive, elegant and dangerous all at the same time.

"We know we can't replace your last knife, but this might pass as a substitute. It's not really designed for locks, but it made short work of the twins' door," Bill said.

It certainly was larger than Sirius' pen knife. The blade was almost as long as Harry's forearm, and it tapered steadily to a delicate looking point. Molly obviously disapproved but said nothing. "Bill claims this one should be quite a bit more durable, despite its fancy appearance. Enchanted to stay sharp, too," Charlie added.

Dumbledore presented Harry with two large bundles. "As the esteemed Professor Trelawney has predicted—" he said loftily, with a graceful wave of his hand, "you've grown. Though, perhaps, her Inner Eye has seen farther than she thought. So, I have two gifts for you. Robes!" The packages suddenly unwrapped themselves, leaving Harry with two piles of new black robes on his lap.

"Why do I need so many?" Harry asked, "Did Trelawney predict that my entire wardrobe would burn to ashes or something?"

"Of course not," Dumbledore scoffed, "I... er... I didn't know your size. So I got two different sizes. I fear that the other set is one size too large." he said with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm certain you'll find a use for them that makes you happy."

With a smile, Harry turned to Ron. "I know how you hate castoffs Ron, but I swear, they're like new. Never been worn."

Ron seemed only slightly put off, and with some encouragement from Harry he took the robes, and gave Harry his present. It was a small candle in a brass holder. "Its a Cold Flame Candle. Easier to use than a wand, and it won't burn down your bed."

Next Hermione came forward with a large flat box. Ginny stood somewhat behind her, yet made sure she could see Harry's face. In the box was a brand new set of gloves and guards for Quidditch. He gave Hermione a slightly confused look. After the Broomstick Servicing Kit she'd given him on his thirteenth birthday he didn't expect her to encourage his love of Quidditch any more.

"You don't like them?" she asked.

"No!" Harry replied quickly, causing Hermione's face to fall, "Wait! Yes! I mean— Yes, they're great, but why—"

"Well, Ginny—"

"I told her that you'd like it!" Ginny interrupted as she stepped forward. "It was Hermione's idea, but she wasn't sure if you'd like it."

Hermione gave her a funny look, but moved on. "Happy Birthday, Harry," she said.

"Yeah, Happy Birthday," Ginny chimed, as Hermione gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. As Ginny leaned in to kiss his other cheek, Harry's head nervously jerked to the side at her proximity to him. The result, however, was much worse than her simply being close to him.

When Ginny went to kiss his cheek, it was no longer there, and instead her lips found his, and they both paled as the were hit with the realization of what had happened. Ginny jumped back immediately muttering something about his present helping him play this year.

The room was silent for a moment. At least, it was mostly silent except for the sound of Tonk's gasping as she covered her mouth and the silenced laughter of the twins. Hermione looked startled, and Ron mostly looked as if he'd missed the punchline to some joke.

"Well, then, I guess it's our turn," announced Fred.

"Last, but not least, and all that—" George said.

"—Actually, that's not true—"

"Right, but he doesn't know that yet," George whispered loudly.

"Moving on," Fred said over the muffled laughs, "We had quite a bit of trouble trying to come up with a gift for young Harry."

"What do you get the boy who has everything?" asked George.

"How about a birthday cake without exploding candles?" offered Bill from the back of the room.

"Ah yes, that," George mumbled. "We might be able to do that..."

"But beyond that," Fred continued dramatically, "what more could we do for our friend Harry than promise him three favors?"

Charlie spoke up this time. "Well, you could—"

"Yes, Charlie, we'll take care of those as well," Fred sounding quite disappointed.

"Ignore them, Harry," George said. "Just name your three favors. Just tell us when you need something and we'll do whatever we can to make it happen."

"And the Ministry won't even know about it," Fred added, "Oh, calm down Mum, it's Harry! What's to worry about?"

"How's that, Harry?" George asked. Harry smiled and nodded energetically. He was already thinking of things he could ask the twins for. "And finally, we'd like to continue the new Weasley family tradition. Fred!"

Harry turned to look at Fred, but he realized too late that Fred was much too close to easily see. Without any warning, Fred gave him a quick but quite dramatic kiss. Harry recoiled and turned away only to have George do the very same thing.

"We love you, too, Harry," George said as Harry struggled to stay in his chair as he recovered. The whole room, even Molly, was laughing. Ginny was laughing as she tried to hide her face. The two smiled at each other and began walking back toward their brothers.

Fred looked over at George, "Ours were better than the girls', don't you think?"

"Course they were," Fred replied, "Look at Ginny, she's hiding her face in shame. She'll have to try harder next time." Ginny dropper her hands and gave them a icy glare.

Bill and Charlie were shaking their heads but smiling as the twins took their spots standing near them. They weren't standing very long, as Molly took the opportunity to suggest it would be the perfect time to have some cake, if it wasn't set to explode when Harry blew out the candles.

"Right!" George shouted, with Fred right behind him. "Almost forgot!"

As the reached the door, Fred stopped short and grabbed George before he could leave the room. "George! We almost forgot! Moody!"

"Oh, of course," George said with a smile. "I believe Mr. Moody owes us twenty-five Galleons each."

"I haven't forgotten," Moody growled, as he pointed a rough looking finger at them.

"Fifty Galleons?" Arthur said, "Why do you owe them money, Alastor?"

"A foolish wager," grumbled Moody, "They bet me double my money that Tonks here wouldn't foul up smuggling Harry past the Aurors."

"That's nice!" Tonks said in a shocked voice. "I _am_ an Auror, you know!"

"And we had complete faith in you," George said in a patronizing voice.

"I'm sure," Tonks said with a dubious look. "However, I wasn't the one who got Harry."

Mad-Eye Moody and Arthur both looked surprised. "Who did? Remus?"

"No, they'd recognize me immediately," Lupin said, "And we were worried about them detecting Tonks using magic. In the end, there was only one of us who knew the Dursleys well enough to be let in, and still not be noticed by the Aurors."

"Ginny?" Arthur asked, "But, I thought she was just there to help Tonks—"

"She was," Lupin said, "But the place was empty. We couldn't send Tonks in. She'd be spotted pretty quick if she was the only person to watch."

"So you sent... _her_ in?" Moody said as his magical eye swiveled to gaze suspiciously at Ginny. "I think she's done quite enough."

"She did get Harry here," Lupin said in a pacifying voice, "And even Kingsley's Aurors didn't notice or suspect a thing. They barely took notice of her leaving."

"So," barked Moody, "Tell us what you did, Miss Weasley."

Ginny's embarrassment from the Twin's antics had passed and now she looked quite stubborn. Harry doubted she'd tell Moody how she'd done it.

"I must admit," Dumbledore said with a bit of laugh, "I am quite interested in hearing how Miss Weasley dealt with Harry's charming relatives."

Ginny told everyone how she'd pretended to be collecting money from a charity the Dursley's surely would have started if they'd ever had a thought for someone who wasn't themselves. She left out her talk with Uncle Vernon, but didn't hide the fact that she'd drawn and used her wand. As she finished, she jumped to her feet shaking her head.

"Completely forgot," she said as she walked toward Harry, "It's not like I'd know what to do with them." She handed Harry a handful of folded notes.

Harry smiled. "The thirty pounds?" he asked with a laugh.

"Yeah," Ginny replied. "It's probably the best and last present you'll ever get from them, so don't spend it wisely."

As everyone realized where the money had come from, they broke out in laughter again. Even Moody forgot his suspicions of Ginny for the moment and let out a series of harsh barks which passed for laughter from the ex-Auror.

The twins both went to shake Ginny's hand, but received a threatening look as they tried to show their appreciation. It seemed that she wasn't going to forget their stunt. They backed away and headed toward the kitchen.

"We'll just be... er..."

"—preparing—"

"Yes! Preparing the cake," Fred said as they left the room.

"Make sure you _prepare_ the chairs as well," Bill called out from the corner.

Fred's head poked back in the room, "Fine! The chairs, too. I swear, it's like we're not related. At least our lovely sister knows how to have a little fun." His head disappeared before Ginny could get out of her seat.

Shortly afterward, the room emptied and all the party-goers moved back to the kitchen, where the birthday cake (now with normal candles) was waiting for them. Harry sat back and marveled at how the day had changed. Just that morning Uncle Vernon had make a point to ignore his birthday and assign him chores. Now he was sitting amongst his friends, who were talking animatedly back and forth about any number of subjects.

Harry enjoyed being able to talk with Ron and Hermione finally. Now that he was here in front of them, they were both less reserved and guarded about what they would say to him. However, for once, he didn't care about what the Order was up to, or anything the Ministry had done, or any news of Voldemort's plans. He just wanted to enjoy a birthday, the way he'd always dreamed it.

Ginny was still a bit of a problem. He wanted to talk with her as well, but whenever she got near him, he could feel (and often see) Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye staring at them. Ginny had noticed as well, and she pretended to enjoy spending time with Bill and Charlie.

Dumbledore had been sitting quietly near the fire in the parlor, talking occasionally with anyone who would show up. He mostly seemed thoughtful, and would occasionally glance at Harry, but he never made any move to talk to him. Harry decided that was fine. He wasn't going force Dumbledore to talk to him. If he didn't want to, Harry was perfectly happy not knowing what Dumbledore was spending his time thinking about.

Yet, for all his attempted apathy, he immediately noticed when Dumbledore stood up and walked over to where Bill, Charlie and Ginny had been watching Ron and George playing a game of Exploding Snap. He pulled Ginny aside and talked with her for some time. Moody seemed to be watching intently, so Harry tried to focus on the game of chess occurring between McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

When he looked up from the game he realized that he had missed their entire conversation. Ginny was slipping into the kitchen carrying some mugs, and Dumbledore was right in front of him.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Miss Weasley wanted me to deliver this card to you. She was terribly sorry she couldn't do it personally, but I asked her to do me a quick favor."

He handed Harry a card. It was a simple birthday card, yet Harry winced as he opened it, waiting for it to conjure a chorus of frogs to serenade him, or for the card to jump on its side, and begin singing itself. However, he was surprised and confused to see that it was rather plain on the inside, saying only:

_Happy Birthday, Harry_

_Love, Ginny_

Harry turned the card over, expecting something more, but there was nothing. That was all he got? After all the hours he'd spent talking to her, he got five words? He knew that she was being secretive, but he'd hoped she'd be able to say more in writing.

"Is there a problem, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, Headmaster," Harry said quietly, "I just expected something ... more."

"Something singing, perhaps?" Dumbledore said with a smile. When Harry said nothing else, he took the card back and opened it. "I wonder," he said as he gazed at the empty card, "How far did you read in your Transfiguration book last term?" McGonagall looked up from her chess match. "How far should he read to be ready for his first Transfiguration class, Minerva? Would page four-hundred ninety-eight be sufficient?"

McGonagall looked confused. "Page four-hundred ninety-eight? I hardly think he'll have much use for those, Albus, they are mostly for—" She paused and looked at Harry. "Yes, I suppose that page four-hundred ninety-eight would be sufficient," she said somewhat reluctantly. "But he would do well to read the entire chapter," she added sternly.

"Excellent advice, Minerva," Dumbledore said. "I quite agree. Perhaps you should see about reading page four-hundred ninety-eight after you get back to Privet Drive."

Harry didn't know what they were talking about, but he was certainly going to look at whatever was on that page of his old Transfiguration textbook.

"Now, if you would come with me, Harry, I would like to have a word with you before you have to go back."

Harry followed silently as Dumbledore led him to the kitchen. When he walked in, he saw Ginny sitting sullenly at the kitchen table prodding an apple and making it change colors. When she saw Harry, she sat up and looked at Dumbledore.

"Why did you bring him here?" she asked in a defensive tone.

Dumbledore shook his head and pointed his wand at the ceiling, "_Camerocultus!_" he said clearly, and the walls seemed to shimmer for a moment. "I brought him here because there is something I need to discuss with both of you— At least I believe so."

"Why not invite Moody in?" Ginny said as she slumped back in her chair, "You know he's outside watching and listening." Harry wondered if Ginny had always been this rebellious, or if it was some recent work of the twins.

"I assure you, Alastor will be quite disappointed if he tries to hear what is being said in this room. Make no mistake, Miss Weasley, I can create my own privacy when I need it." Ginny seemed to relax, but still eyed Dumbledore warily. He ignored her and began walking lazily toward the fireplace. "I dislike repeating myself, but Harry, is there anything you wish to tell me?"

"Er... Like what? Another attack?"

"Anything that you know that you haven't told me about," Dumbledore said idly, "Odd things that have happened, strange things that you can't explain..."

"No," Harry answered slowly. "I know that you know about the mirrors."

"Of course. I've noticed something different about you, Harry," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "For some time I could not put my finger on just what it was. I only discovered what it was today, when I found that I could not discover what it was." Harry's empty gaze must have shown his bewilderment. Dumbledore smiled and looked into Harry's eyes. "I cannot detect your feelings or emotions. You've become exceptionally good at Occlumency."

"Not good enough to block the dreams," Harry responded. He didn't want to have to think about this right now.

"That's true. Quite curious, really. Is there nothing else?"

What could Dumbledore be looking for, Harry wondered. "I— I don't think so."

"I have had my suspicions for some time, but I could never be certain. I'm terribly sorry, Harry. I'm afraid that I must be certain now."

Before Harry could ask what he'd meant by that, the Headmaster had taken Ginny's birthday card and tossed it in a lazy arc toward the fire. Ginny stood up immediately and shouted at him. She'd apparently written something important on it. Dumbledore knew it, and he was going to let it burn.

Time seemed to stand still. Harry felt a surge of anger as he jumped to his feet. What was Dumbledore up to? He'd practically told Harry that there was more to read on the card, and now he was going to destroy it before Harry could read it. Harry took a step toward the fire, and reached for it in an impotent attempt to stop it from landing in the fire.

However, to his amazement, he did. Before the card made it to the flames, it slowed and sailed back toward his open hand. Ginny gasped and sat down, her jaw hanging open. Dumbledore merely nodded and looked a little more solemn.

"I must admit this is what I expected."

Harry felt his anger and annoyance boiling up inside him, "You what? You knew this was going to happen, and just decided to wait until I found out? I thought we were done with this!" he shouted, not caring what Ginny would think. "I'm tired of being your puppet! You're just using me, waiting for me to kill Voldemort, or for him to kill me! You—"

"Harry!" Ginny shouted. She was pale, and standing again.

Harry felt as if a cold wind was pushing away his anger. He looked to Dumbledore. Harry had never seen him looking so surprised. Then the pain began. Intense pain like a dull knife pressing into his forehead shot through his scar. He groaned and sat down. The pain was ebbing away quickly and before anyone spoke it had become nothing more than a dull ache.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you of this earlier, Harry." Dumbledore said calmly as he walked around the table. "At first, I didn't believe this would happen. Then I convinced myself it would not develop this quickly. It was Miss Weasley who helped me finally realize the truth."

Ginny gaped at him, "What did I help you see?"

"You've always done quite well in your studies, but in the last year you've made some truly remarkable progress. Professor McGonagall mentioned it to me immediately, and Professor Flitwick explained how you have been working to control your tendency to cast overly powerful charms."

"So?" Ginny said looking a little worried, "Am I not supposed to be getting better?"

"Yes, of course," Dumbledore said nodding, "but we expect students to grow gradually, and you seemed to grow quickly over the last summer."

Harry was beginning to wonder what Dumbledore was getting at. Part of him thought he should know. He wondered if it had something to do with the strange things he was able to do now. He was about to ask Dumbledore, when the apple Ginny had been prodding with her wand suddenly turned into a small, tightly coiled, black snake.

With a hiss, it slipped from its coil and shot toward Ginny, swiftly slithering onto her hand and wrapping itself around her arm. Harry panicked and searched for his wand, but before he found it, a voice in the back of his mind called out: _Command it_.

He turned to look at the snake slipping around her arm. It seemed to be quite angry and its mouth was open, exposing small but threatening fangs.

Ginny was panicking as well, "_No! Stop!_" she shouted at it. It seemed to pause at the sound of her yelling, but made no move to retreat.

"_Move away from her,_" hissed Harry. "_Go back to the table._"

The snake looked from Ginny to Harry and back. Then, without a hiss it slithered back onto the table, into a lazy coil where the apple had been.Ginny still looked pale, and she was looking at Harry and Dumbledore.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me, Ginny?" Dumbledore asked her quietly.

"I— I heard him..." she said faintly.

"Ginny," Harry said in a manner he hoped would comfort her, "You know that I can do that. It's okay."

"No..." she said shaking her head, "I heard what you said. You told it to go back to the table." Her eyes opened very wide and she turned to Dumbledore as she covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh no— Did I—"

"Yes, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said quietly, "I'm afraid I expected that as well, though not until recently."

Ginny was a Parselmouth as well. Harry wasn't sure if he was relieved or disgusted. "It was Riddle and that diary, wasn't it?" he asked. Dumbledore nodded but Harry was still unsure what the connection was. "So we both have some of his power now, but how does that explain how I did... this," he asked holding up Ginny's card.

"When Voldemort got his body back, he began regaining his power," Dumbledore explained, "As he regains more of his old power, you will notice your own powers growing. As a young man, Tom had already developed the rare talent of using magic without a wand or incantation."

Harry's stomach churned at the thought. "I don't want it! I've never wanted it!" he said vehemently, "I never meant to use it. I've tried not to, but it just happens."

"Relax, Harry," Dumbledore said as he conjured hot cocoa for the three of them. "It is not Voldemort growing inside you. This power has been there for some time. Right now, it is simply... waking up, and you'd do well to learn to master it."

He pushed the cocoa toward Ginny, who was still pale and staring at the snake, and continued, "Ginny will have a much easier time of it. She does not have the stronger connection to him that you do." Ginny looked up, and she seemed relieved at first, then turned her eyes to Harry and then back to the snake, as if she were ashamed. Dumbledore gave her an apologetic look. "I'm not sure what you'll have to look forward to, Miss Weasley. It seems as if you've little more than the power you used in your first year, though in time it might progress beyond that."

He turned back to Harry. "No one knows what you should expect beyond what we've already seen. Obviously, this is not something the wizarding world has often seen. With practice, your skills will improve."

"Why does my scar hurt when I use them?" Harry asked, lightly rubbing his scar which was only tingling now.

"There are some things that even I do not know, Harry," Dumbledore said in a low voice. Seeing the distraught look on Harry's face, he continued, "But if I were to make a guess, I would say that like Ginny, you are simply trying too hard. The effort of summoning that card likely opened the link between you and Voldemort, and for that moment, you felt the intensity of the anger and hatred that he carries with him at all times. With some practice, I think you'll find you're able to control it."

Harry and Ginny sat silently for some time, sipping their cocoa. Dumbledore seemed to relax a little and he talked lightly with Ginny about choosing her to be a prefect. "This year at Hogwarts will be an unusual one, I'm certain," he said. "There are a number of very important things planned. I hope you will not be disappointed to hear that you will not be a prefect, Harry?"

Harry shook his head, though he did feel somewhat disappointed. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny would all be prefects and he'd be left alone.

"Perhaps you will change your mind after the term begins," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I may find other uses for you which fit your particular talents a little better."

Harry and Ginny both looked up, but Dumbledore was busy stirring his own cocoa and looking as if he'd just said absolutely nothing. Harry looked back to his cocoa as he tried to figure out what the Headmaster had meant. He lazily stirred the creamy liquid, watching the wisps of steam moving quickly across the surface.

He looked up, searching for some draft. Finding nothing, he turned back to the cocoa and took a sip. As he lowered the cup, he noticed the strands of steam flowing toward him, slowly. They parted and danced, and seemed to weave amongst each other. Then as if on cue, they turned and began to drift past an empty shape in the vapor.

Harry shouted and threw down the cup, spilling the steaming liquid across the table as he fell backwards off his chair. Dumbledore shot out of his seat.

"Harry! Are you okay?" Ginny cried as she jumped to her feet.

"Dementors!" Harry choked. "The Dementors are moving."

"Where are they?" Dumbledore asked quickly. His actions took on a sudden sense of urgency

"I don't know!" Harry replied, annoyed. "I see shapes, not maps!"

"I'm sorry, Harry, but it's very important that you tell me exactly what you saw."

"Dark shapes —they had to be Dementors— gathering and then all leaving in the same direction," Harry said quickly. "And Voldemort... He must have been there. He's always there."

"I think we still have some time." With a flick of his wand the walls shimmered again and Ron and Hermione tumbled through the now open door, looking quite shocked.

"We— er... We were..." Ron started to explain.

"Eavesdropping, but you didn't hear a sound." Dumbledore finished for him. "Quite understandable, and two Gryffindor prefects will suit me quite well. You wish to help the Order?"

"Yeah," Ron answered without thinking. Hermione nodded but gave Harry a concerned look.

"Ronald, I believe your father has gone back to the Ministry. I need you to fetch him here as quickly as possible." Ron nodded and ran off. "Hermione, I need you to go to Diagon Alley and find Mundungus Fletcher. Take the twins and Charlie with you. I'll need Bill, so please send him to me immediately." With a quick nod Hermione turned and walked out of the kitchen.

"Professor Dumbledore," Ginny said quietly. Harry understood why. Dumbledore became quite intimidating when he was angry or even just terribly focused like he was now.

"Yes, Miss Weasley, quickly!"

"The Aurors, sir," she said quickly. "What happens if someone sees the Dementors and the Aurors check on Harry."

"Of course, Miss Weasley," he said nodding his head, "You need to return to your relatives, Harry. Miss Weasley, I will trust you to make sure he returns to Privet Drive safely. Those candlesticks should be your Portkeys. If they are not, your brothers will spend the next month as garden gnomes. The envelope between them will be your way back."

Ginny smiled and walked over to take the envelope from the shelf over the fireplace. It wasn't that she didn't understand the seriousness of the situation, but rather this was the first time that she'd been trusted to do anything.

"It shouldn't be that surprising, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said, as if he read her mind (and Harry realized that he just might have). "You've been helping Harry more than I have. It seems only appropriate that you be responsible for seeing that the secret party you made possible goes unnoticed."

Ginny and Harry gathered Harry's presents quickly but quickly decided they didn't have the time, or the extra arms to carry them all. Various members of the Order were in the kitchen now. Moody and Lupin were talking with Dumbledore. Bill had already left, and Kingsley Shacklebolt was planted in front of the fireplace, trying to find out where the Dementors might be.

"We'd better go," Ginny said to Harry. "Dumbledore looks quite busy."

They walked to the fireplace on either side of Kingsley as he talked to a witch through the flames. She had just handed him a large mug of something that looked like butterbeer, but it glowed faintly. He wasn't drinking it.

"You're letting _her_ take him back, Albus?" Alastor Moody said loudly pointing a crooked finger at the two of them.

"I can think of no one who stands a better chance of accomplishing that task, Alastor," he announced as Harry and Ginny approached the fireplace. "Ah, wait a moment!" he called out to them. "Don't forget your presents, Harry." He handed Harry a small box into which he'd shrunk all of Harry's gifts. Moody was obviously annoyed. "Now, be careful. If there are any problems, I assume you can contact us." Dumbledore looked to Harry who nodded as slightly as he could.

"I'm afraid we just may have to wait until something happens, but keep an eye out. Tell your Aurors what is happening if you like. Kingsley won't be alerting any of the Aurors until Miss Weasley has returned."

Dumbledore turned to look at Ginny. "Try to return as soon as possible. I'm sorry this must end so suddenly, but it's very important that we get help from the Aurors soon. Goodbye, and I hope your birthday remains as happy as it is now."

Harry turned and sighed. He reached for his candlestick.

"No!" Ginny shouted as she grabbed his arm. "I'll go first. I have a way back if there are any problems. Count to... five, then grab yours."

Harry didn't like the idea of Ginny going alone, but he didn't really have any choice as Ginny put the envelope in her pocket, pulled her wand and then vanished.

He stood there, and began counting to himself. He couldn't help but imagine what might be happening to Ginny. What if the Death Eaters are waiting at Privet Drive? What if the Portkey dumped her somewhere else? His mind raced through any number of terrible situation. He'd only reached four, but it had felt much longer. It must be time for him to go.

* * *


	12. The Second Attack

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 12 - The Second Attack**

* * *

Harry felt his feet land hard on the floor and he struggled to stay standing. He was at Privet Drive. He wasn't in some cramped closet. Everything seemed to go okay, apart from the fact that he was quite close to the front door and facing it.

He heard screaming.

Before he had even looked around the room he had his wand out. When he whirled around to aim his wand at the source of the noise, it stopped abruptly.

Petunia stood in front of Ginny, pale and trembling with her mouth open in a now silenced scream. Vernon was nearby with a lamp raised above his head as if he were ready to strike Ginny with it.

"They started yelling the second I showed up," said Ginny angrily. "If they keep it up someone will get suspicious."

"Put it down!" Harry shouted as he turned his uncle. Vernon slowly lowered the lamp, though the scowl on his face remained. Harry lowered his wand, and Ginny did the same. "We're not here to attack you. Leave her alone, and she'll be gone in a moment."

"I won't put up with this!" Vernon howled. "Get OUT!"

"Go on," Harry told Ginny. "They can't hurt me. I need to talk to the Aurors and you need to get back."

Ginny took one last opportunity to glare at the Dursley's before she put her wand back in her pocket. "Goodbye Harry, I'll see you soon," she said and then vanished.

Petunia made a sound like a gasp and a squeak and then collapsed in a nearby chair with her head in her hands. Vernon simply stood with his hands clenched. Harry placed his box of gifts by the stairs and draped his robe over it. He could see Dudley's pudgy face looking at the box from under a small table.

Wearing only his Muggle clothing now, he opened the door. "I'm going out for a bit," he told his uncle. The fact that he simply stated it instead of asking didn't seem to cheer Vernon up at all. "And tell Dudley that he'd best not touch that box. I have no idea what it will do to him." He heard a frightened squeal from Dudley as he closed the door.

For once he walked directly out to the Aurors, in full sight and without any attempt to disguise himself. The Aurors seemed to understand something important had happened.

Harry told them what he'd seen. They had both paled on hearing that the Dementors were preparing to attack and Clarence Stafford Disapparated (as Harry expected him to) as soon as he heard everything Harry had to say. Harry didn't stick around for Clarence to return, but as he paced about his room, he checked to see that he had.

Harry didn't know what to do. He found that he hated waiting for the dream more than the dream itself. He looked out his window, and watched as two people who must have been Aurors walked up to his "guards" and seemed to strike up a friendly conversation before walking off. Stafford and Montnor looked alarmed when they noticed him looking out his window, but Harry quickly shook his head. He still hadn't seen anything.

Somewhere out there, a number of Dementors were headed somewhere. It was probably the house of some family, whose father or grandfather had somehow angered or annoyed Voldemort in some small fashion. They didn't know what was coming, but Harry did. The Order was out there as well, but Harry had to remain here, waiting for his top box seat to whatever horrors Voldemort had planned.

He knew he had to find some way to pass the time. He was going spare here just pacing his room and waiting to see Voldemort's snakelike face poking through whatever wall he might be looking at. He finally decided that only reading _Potions of Power_ would fit his current mood. Perhaps the thought of a year of class with Snape would dull the paranoia in his head.

He layed down on his bed with the large Potions text in front of him. With a determined sigh, he opened it to where he had last left off. It really wasn't all that interesting, and he wasn't looking forward to the day when he'd face Snape in class, but this was perhaps better than simply waiting for news of the Dementors.

Harry read silently and diligently. He focused mostly on staying awake, and scolded himself when his head would nod drowsily. At times he would turn back and reread pages, realizing that he didn't remember reading them the first time. He was very close to sleep, but no dreams were coming to him.

Voldemort _was_ out there. Harry began to wonder if by forcing himself to stay awake was preventing the visions from happening, then he struggled to decide whether that was a good thing. Part of him dearly wished that he didn't have the link with Voldemort that allowed these things to happen, yet he also knew that it might be the only advantage the Order had against Voldemort.

He turned back to his book, but had trouble focusing on the words. He must have taken his glasses off. He reached to his eyes, but found his glasses right where he expected them. The whole world was going blurry. He searched for his wand, but it was not where he expected it.

_The Mirror_ his mind shouted, though Harry didn't know why.

Harry thought heard muffled shouting. It must be coming from outside. He tried to get to his window, but found that he couldn't determine just where his window was. It didn't matter; the voices were growing louder. His hearing seemed to actually be getting better.

"Patrick! Run! Tell the Ministry!"

A sinister laugh filled Harry's mind. "Do you think they can save you? They barely believe I exist, and those who do are off hunting my Dementors."

Voldemort. Fear seized Harry for a moment, but then he felt the familiar detached but restrained feeling of one of his visions. He must have fallen asleep, and the vision had started so gradually that it caught him unaware.

"_Crucio!_!"

There was a man on the floor, screaming in agony. Voldemort was standing over him. Harry looked about trying to quickly assess the situation. There was a woman bound in a chair nearby with a small number of Death Eaters. More of them were running out the door into the night.

Voldemort broke the curse, and the man choked and gasped.

When the Death Eaters returned, Harry was shocked to find that they had not been chasing down a man, but a small boy, not quite old enough to go to Hogwarts. He was struggling against the two Death Eaters holding him.

The man on the floor was still struggling to breathe. How many curses had he taken before the vision had started? He saw the young boy. Harry could only assume it was his son by his reaction. The woman sitting nearby in the chair was shouting. "Coward! He's just a boy! Or are you afraid of fighting with honor?" Voldemort ignored her.

The man on the floor had recovered enough to push himself to his hands and knees. He was staring at Voldemort's feet and between gasping breaths, he choked out two words: "Albus...Dumbledore..."

Voldemort grimaced as if slapped. "_Crucio!_!" He only held the curse for a short time before kneeling down by the man's face.

"Dumbledore!" he said with disdain. "He couldn't even save the Longbottoms. He has at best slowed me down. He cannot stop me."

The woman said in a low voice, "Someone will."

"There is no one who can stand against me now," he said slowly.

"Harry Potter can," said a small but angry voice. The child had spoken up. Several of the Death Eaters around the boy laughed softly.

Voldemort turned to him. "Ah. Harry Potter," he sneered. "You are right, boy. Potter has stood up to me. And he has indeed defeated me —for a time." He stood up and pointed his wand at the woman in the chair. "Will the great Harry Potter save your mother?"

"He would if he were here! He can do anything!" the boy yelled.

Voldemort laughed. "I had once thought something similar. He did the impossible, after all. If one can accomplish the impossible anything else should be simple, but he couldn't save his Mudblood mother and he didn't even try to save the Diggory boy," he sneered. "Perhaps I'd overestimated his abilities. It was not him who defeated me, but a desperate act by his mother. He has only escaped me by luck and quick feet. He cannot run from me forever."

He turned again to the man on the floor. "But perhaps he will save the lot of you. Or at least, your child."

The man closed his eyes, and whispered, "Please, not my—"

"_Crucio!_!"

He was screaming and writhing in pain again.

"Call to him! Call to Harry Potter to save you from agony and madness!" Voldemort shouted as he broke the curse. The man gasped for air.

"Beg for him to save your child! _Crucio!_!" He laughed as the curse lit up the small room. "Cry out his name! Summon him here!"

The curse was broken again, and the man was trying to get his breath back. With a quiet raspy voice, he said "He...will defeat you... He must..."

"Then call him here!" Voldemort yelled with a laugh. "Let his triumph be your salvation! Pray that he will save your family where he could not save his own!"

Voldemort turned to point his wand at the woman in the chair. "_Avada Kedavra_." The bonds disappeared as she slumped in the chair and slid to the floor.

"No!" the man shouted. "Harry Potter! Please! Please save my son! Please, save him..."

But Harry didn't get to see what happened. He felt himself pushed from the room and everything went dark. He awoke with a start and found himself lying in his bed. His potions book was in front of him, and his scar was throbbing. His Mirror was in his left hand.

He looked to find Hedwig. She was in her cage, sleeping. He decided that he should sent word to Remus.

He was torn between anger and sadness as he held the Mirror in front of him. Would he be forced to watch every time Voldemort attacked an innocent family? He tried to describe the family as best he could. Much like the first attack, he didn't have any idea who the people were. He wondered if Voldemort knew.

Unlike the first attack, Harry had no idea why these people had been attacked. Had they just been in the wrong place? The Death Eaters didn't seem to want anything from them. They were just torturing them. If they had seemed to take any pleasure from it, Harry might have been able to accept that as the purpose, but there was nothing..

Even more troubling was the fact that Harry was now convinced that Voldemort was taunting him. He was certain that Voldemort knew when Harry was watching, and he seemed to be almost gloating over the fact that Harry couldn't stop him.

And the Dementors. Where had they gone? They weren't there, and Harry felt convinced now that they were sent elsewhere as a diversion. Voldemort must know that Harry could see him. He was toying with him, as if he wanted to force Harry to watch, yet have everyone doubt him.

Harry decided he'd leave that part out again. Part of him (probably due to Hermione's influence) wanted to tell his former professor everything, but he knew that if he did, it would probably provoke action by the Order, or even the Ministry. Even if Harry didn't know what purpose it might serve, he was certain Voldemort wanted just that response.

So Lupin and the others would have to stay in the dark. It was for their own protection for now. If only he would have thought this way a few months ago, Sirius might still be with him. Ginny would understand. Harry wondered if she'd be awake and helping the Order. He'd find out later.

He looked directly at the mirror and spoke clearly.

Harry spoke to Lupin for some time. He relayed the important information to someone at Grimmauld Place, and then continued talking to Harry. Harry got little information from him about what had happened, and the longer they talked the more he wished he was talking to Ginny. However, Harry soon found out that Lupin was only stalling as Ginny was in the kitchen helping Molly with food and drinks for the Order members who were coming and going.

Eventually, they said goodnight to each other, and Harry found Ginny waiting for him with her own Mirror. Ginny was a little more talkative than Lupin, but Harry still didn't learn anything to make himself feel any better. Like the first time, they didn't know who (or where) the victims were. He did find out that one Auror, in his first year of duty had been Kissed when three Dementors cornered him in a village not far from Ottery St. Catchpole.

They had been a diversion. Voldemort had used Harry, and yet another person was dead (or worse) because of it. Ginny had tried to prevent him from feeling guilty about it, but it hadn't worked. If Occlumency couldn't protect him, what could? Even his best attempts to stay awake hadn't prevented the vision from forcing its way into Harry's head.

Harry eventually got some sleep that night, but it was light and he woke up feeling worse than he had the day before. He continued to sleep most of the next day. He was only interrupted once by Uncle Vernon who retreated immediately upon seeing a groggy Harry pointing a wand at him.

Harry spent the next week dreading the next attack, but nothing ever came. He'd expected something to happen afterward to identify it as the start of some organized attack, but nothing occurred. Instead, things seemed to be looking better and better. The sentiment around the Ministry, as well as the _Daily Prophet_, was that Harry could not be causing the attacks, especially given the advance notice he had given the Aurors on the most recent one.

This had been confirmed by light conversations he'd had with the Aurors across the street. They now shared their orders openly with Harry. They were to report immediately any strange activity or owls they saw to Kingsley Shacklebolt and submit weekly reports to the Office of the Minister.

Harry wondered what they would do about Uncle Vernon. After a week of no "unnaturalness" around Number Four Privet Drive, Uncle Vernon had adopted a new strategy regarding Harry. Upon realizing that Harry was less than a year from his seventeenth birthday, Uncle Vernon (with support from Petunia and some jeering from Dudley) had decided that Harry must be "cured of his condition."

Harry didn't know how Vernon planned to do this, but it seemed to involve a decent amount of chores. He wasn't being worked constantly, but Vernon seemed to be trying to make sure that Harry had a minimum of time to himself. He, of course, had no idea that the mirror on Harry's desk allowed him to spend many of his nights talking to the very same witch who'd turned their floor rug into a rather large lizard.

That was, undoubtedly, the most positive thing to occur since the second attack. Voldemort's lack of activity had left Ginny with very little news from the Order, and they had switched instead to simply keeping each other company after long days. Harry would spend his days washing clothes, or repainting walls, while Ginny spent her days cleaning out the basement of Grimmauld Place and helping Lupin and her mother expand and improve it. At night, they would talk to each other about whatever they were thinking about.

In the middle of a horrible holiday, it gave Harry his first piece of true happiness. He didn't even have to feel guilty. He didn't have to keep anything more from the Order, and Ginny didn't have any news from the Order to tell him. Instead they would talk about much less serious matters.

They discussed the next year's Quidditch team and what could be done about the pair of abysmal beaters they had, and Ginny interrogated Harry over what the O.W.L.s were like. Harry still replied to the owls that Ron and Hermione (and on occasion, Fred and George) sent him, but the letters were short and it still felt as if they were afraid of saying too much.

Ginny, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy saying too much. She talked about Ron and Hermione on occasion, and shared any embarrassing moments they had. In the absence of any dangerous secrets to pass on, Ginny had started letting Harry in on all the things she'd overheard while listening for more serious information.

"Michael Corner is still going out with Cho," she'd said one evening, "...not that I'm terribly interested in what he's getting up to these days, but it was a bit surprising." Ginny also made it pretty clear that she didn't like Cho all that much. "She was always so _weepy_. I hope she's happier now. Was she like that when she was going out with you?"

Harry found himself struggling to say anything. "I—er... well, you see... Erm..." Ginny waited patiently, but she had an uncomfortable, puzzled look on her face. Harry forced the words to come out. "Yeah, I suppose," he said finally. "Not always, of course— but, yeah."

Ginny looked a little worried, "Boys like girls like that, do they?"

"Maybe some do, I guess," Harry said. This was a subject he found a little uncomfortable, though he didn't want to think about why. "But not me, I think. I wish I would have been able to talk to her like we do.

Ginny seemed to accept his answer, but she didn't say much for the rest of that evening. Harry had wanted to ask her if he'd said something wrong. He was fairly certain since the incident the previous Valentine's Day that girls must have different ideas of what "wrong" and "okay" were. When he saw an owl on the evening horizon, he'd decided that he'd send it back to Hermione and see if she would help him out again. At the time she'd helped him before he'd been going out with Cho, but now he just needed help understanding his friend. Well, he considered Neville his friend, so perhaps Ginny was closer to being a best friend.

His thoughts were stopped abruptly when he realized that he didn't recognize the dark brown owl headed toward his window. He considered closing his window quickly, but the Aurors seemed completely uninterested in it. It must be a Ministry Owl, he told himself.

The owl soared into his room, dropped off a rather large letter with a Hogwarts seal on it, and then leapt into the air again, wheeled about his room and flew back out the window into the hazy sky.

Harry stared at the letter on his bed. It had his O.W.L. results in it. He was certain of it. It would also tell him about the upcoming year. Truthfully, he didn't care much about the O.W.L. results, but he knew they would have a big impact upon his last two years at Hogwarts.

Finally he picked the envelope up, and opened it. Two separate letters fell out, one bound in red ribbon and a ministry seal. Harry truly was more interested in the other letter, but he forced himself to look at the bound letter first.

He found that he wasn't terribly surprised by the results. At least, most of them. He'd gotten six O.W.L.s. He hadn't really expected to get anything in Astronomy, Divination, and History. He'd gotten an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but he'd guessed that. His Patronus had distracted all of the examiners.

The best news, however, was also the biggest problem. Harry stared at it for a while before fully accepting it.

_Potions Mastery: Outstanding_

He'd thought he'd done well, but 'Outstanding'? He could imagine Snape's reaction already. Perhaps he already knew and was hexing Ron and Hermione just for being his friends. Then he remembered the Potions text. He quickly opened the other letter, tossing the first two pieces of parchment aside and reading the list of supplies. He scanned down the list until he found it:

___Potions of Power_ by Shalorian Firecombe (Advanced Potions)

Dumbledore must have known he was going to get the O. He looked through the rest of the results quickly. He'd gotten all the marks he needed to try to be an Auror. Professor McGonagall was sure to be relieved by that. Hermione would be proud of him, too. He couldn't wait to tell Ginny about it.

He finally turned back to the other sheets of parchment he'd tossed on the floor in his haste. The first was the standard greeting to returning students. The second, however, was new. Harry read it immediately and then immediately reached for his Mirror.

"Ginny Weasley," he said clearly. The mirror shimmered but remained dark. Harry thought he saw some movement, and was fairly certain he could hear muffled voices.

Then the mirror cleared suddenly, as if a shroud had been pulled off it, leaving a smiling Ginny Weasley.

"Ginny?"

"Sorry, I had the mirror in my robe pocket. I was waiting for you," she said quickly. "So? What do you think?"

"Erm... What?" Harry fumbled as he wondered what Ginny meant. "What are you talking about?"

"The letter from Hogwarts?" she said with a furrowed brow, "You did get a letter, didn't you?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, I got it," Harry said as he realized that Ginny probably got hers quite some time ago. "I'm not sure I understand it, though."

"The International Confederation of Wizards is going to be assembling at Hogwarts."

"I didn't have any problems reading it, Ginny," Harry said with a little annoyance. Ginny had been the one to freely tell him loads of things he'd never asked her to, but now that he was asking, she was just reciting what the letter had said. "The letter said something about a festival, and... competitions?"

"Right. Bill was telling us about it. The I.C.W. members get together regularly, but usually its just a few of them at a time. Sometimes, though, they call an assembly. When that happens, they all get together to discuss whatever it is they need to discuss."

"While dancing about and turning dragons into armchairs?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You didn't let me finish. It usually lasts quite a while, and it's become tradition for the host to, well, show off a bit. There's usually a good number of feasts, and games, and other fun things."

"And competitions?"

"Yeah, I guess," Ginny said.

"Between the I.C.W. members?" he asked hesitantly.

"Well, no, of course not between them," she said with a laugh, "The festival is supposed to be entertainment. Bill said that when he was there there were races and a ball and the entire grounds became a great party and all sorts of people were invited."

"'Course it will probably be different this time," Ginny said with a wave of her free hand, "There was a lot of celebration back then, but I expect we'll still have fun."

"When was the last time this happened?" Harry asked with apprehension. "Bill was there, was he?" he continued, barely pausing before the final question. "They assembled sixteen years ago didn't they?"

Ginny looked up. "No," she said but her face looked sad, "The last assembly was almost fifteen years ago."

"Right," Harry said as he looked away. The wizarding world had celebrated as he spent his first year with the Dursleys and Sirius spent his first year in Azkaban.

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry," Ginny apologized, "but it'll be great, you'll see."

Harry tried to shake off the mood he'd fallen in. "So... er... what _is_ going to happen?"

"Mum and Dad said that it wasn't really a secret, but that they didn't really know yet. There's going to be Quidditch matches, and feasts, and we'll probably have old wizards walking about the castle. Dumbledore's also arranging some large competition. All the fifth years and higher have waivers to sign."

"Waivers?" Harry asked as he looked about his floor. "I didn't get one of those," he said finally, "Not like it matters. I'd never get my uncle to sign it now."

"You don't have to," said Ginny, a fresh smile spreading across her face. "Dumbledore said yours was already signed."

"Your dad must have tricked him into signing it."

"Or Mad-Eye Moody scared him into it, yeah," Ginny said with a laugh. "But the point is that you don't have to worry, you're all set. Wouldn't be much of a competition, without you, would it? I mean, you don't expect Dumbledore to tell the Council that Harry Potter won't be competing because his Muggle stepfather didn't sign his waiver. You've got to give the audience what they want, you know?"

"Fine, but _what_ exactly won't I be left out of?" Harry asked as he remembered his earlier concerns.

"Oh, right. There's going to be a competition," she said quickly. "I thought I told you that already."

"Yeah, you did. What kind of competition? Like a tournament?" he asked warily.

"I guess," Ginny answered dismissively.

"A wizard tournament?"

"Oh! No! Not like that," Ginny replied immediately. "Well, we might have some task to do, but nothing as dangerous as the Triwizard Tournament."

"Sure," Harry said, though his tone seemed to say something completely different. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to end up in a bathtub wrestling with an egg while that bloody mermaid laughs at me."

"I doubt that, though I might be able to arrange that. I am a prefect now," Ginny said as she laughed. Harry noticed her blushing slightly.

"Are there going to be dragons?" Harry asked, trying to sound like he was joking.

"No," Ginny said, still laughing, "but there will be a ball."

Harry's head dropped. "I think I'd prefer the dragons."

Ginny continued to laugh at him and though he'd been completely serious, her laughter was cheering him up. Ginny offered to help Harry get whatever supplies he'd need from Diagon Alley. He would send a letter to Lupin telling him the things he'd need and Ginny would make sure Fred and George didn't try anything with any of them.

"You'll want new dress robes, too," she'd reminded him, "for that ball you're already dreading. I need some, too. I saw the most beautiful ones in Madam Malkin's. They were green and fitted. They'd make me look like a mermaid. They were really amazing," she said brightly though she seemed disappointed. "And, well, it's not impossible that I'd get them."

Harry wondered what she meant by that, and tried to ask her politely. She'd responded simply and with determination: "I have to find something to blackmail the twins with, of course. The already owe me a favor, but... well, I don't think it will be quite enough."

"Is that all?" he asked, "You could find eight things between now and the start of term!"

Ginny smiled but gave a discouraged sigh. "I know. But Mum's taking us tomorrow, and they've spent the last two days in Diagon Alley trying to make new wheezes." She tried to look happy. "I'm sure I'll find nice robes, and Hermione and I will find something really great for you. Just make sure you write as soon as you can. I think Lupin was planning on shopping for you later."

He had to admit that he liked the idea of Ginny and Hermione picking out dress robes for him. He certainly didn't want to, and though he really liked Ron, Ron wasn't the person he wanted picking out clothes for him. With Ron picking your clothes there was a good chance you'd end up wearing the Chudley Cannons logo.

Ginny said they were planning on making a day of it. Molly and Arthur were going to visit their sons and they were going to attempt to try and enjoy themselves. She and Ron and Hermione would have plenty of spare time to relax. "I'll bring my Mirror," she said. "Ron and Hermione can get a little... tiring at times. I'll still have someone to talk to, and it will almost be like you're there with me —er—us."

Harry promised to send off a letter asking for the things he needed for the next term, and promised to keep his Mirror handy the next day. As Harry wrote his note to Lupin his mind kept wandering. He had been feeling more and more troubled each time he talked to Ginny. He almost felt guilty about it.

He really enjoyed talking to Ginny. But he hardly ever talked to Ron and Hermione. In the past month, he'd exchanged only four friendly letters with either of them. They were his best friends, but he was spending most of his time talking to Ginny. He found that he had grown fond of his nightly conversations with Ginny. He'd have plenty of time to talk to Ron and Hermione once he was back at Hogwarts.

As he reached the end of his note, he tried to find a way to politely suggest that Lupin have the Weasley's buy the few things he needed instead of Lupin himself. He hoped that his old professor hadn't made any special plans. He finished the letter and was about to send it, when he remembered Ginny's advice.

_P.S. If you don't mind, see if the girls will pick out my dress robes. I don't think I'd like Ron or the twins to pick out anything I'll be forced to wear in public._

He smiled and folded the letter. He'd forgotten about the twins. Who knows what they would have done to his robes. He would have had to spend one of their favors just to have them not charm his dress robes to change colors or attack him or even simply disappear.

Harry jumped to his feet. He'd completely forgotten their gift. It was perfect. Ginny would get the dress robes she had wanted, even if it took all of his favors.

He took out a fresh piece of parchment and started writing quickly. Ginny had said the twins had been spending the last few days in Diagon Alley. No one would see them getting a note from him. Harry didn't think Ginny would like the idea of him telling the twins to get her the robes. Ron had never liked such charity, and Ginny could be even stronger willed than him.

In the end, he asked for Fred and George to make sure Ginny and Ron had good robes. He figured it would be less suspicious that way. He'd keep to his room tomorrow so he'd be sure to see the look on her face as she told him that she had the robes she was dreaming of. In a moment his discomfort had fled, and now he felt almost triumphant.

He imagined what she would look like as he collected the two letters. He tried to remember what the mermaid in the prefects' bathroom looked like, but it seemed so long ago. With a friendly nip on his hand, Hedwig reminded him that he was supposed to be quick about this.

He Obscured the letter to Lupin and was already tying it on Hedwig when he let out a short yelp which startled the normally calm owl. He quickly untied it, ignoring the confused look Hedwig was giving him.

"No..." he said, picking up the Obscuring Orb again. "Not this. Not now. Bloody Orb." He held the letter, which was now a postcard depicting a underwater scene, and touched it with the small sphere again. Instead of changing, the scene remained, except for changing from night to day. "No, you treacherous blighter! I can't send this!"

He grabbed the letter to the twins, and was about to conceal it as well. He hesitated, fearing the results. A second later, an anguished cry could be heard from his window. "I'd destroy you if I knew how!" he shouted at the Obscuring Orb. The result was even worse than the first one. This time it moved. He frantically scrawled a note on another piece of parchment, folded it, and Obscured it. This one was just as bad as the second, but no worse.

He didn't have time for this. He had to send the notes. There wasn't any time to rewrite them, and even if there would have been, there would be no guarantee it wouldn't be worse the next time. He didn't know why it happened. He only knew that he desperately wished he could change it. He tied the letters to each of Hedwig's legs with shaky hands.

He waved mechanically to the Aurors as Hedwig left, to show them everything was okay. Then he collapsed on his bed. He looked to his Mirror, wondering if he should try to use it. Ginny would be eating supper now. It would be suspicious if she left, and with his luck, everyone would still be eating when Hedwig arrived.

So instead he simply curled up and stared at the Mirror. Next to it was the quick note he'd tested the Obscuring Orb on. It was a postcard now, depicting the same underwater scene as the letters to Lupin and the twins. He tried to convince himself it was his memories of the Triwizard Tournament, but he knew it wasn't. The twins would see it and they'd guess. Lupin would know, but maybe he'd change it before anyone else saw it.

Floating playfully in the center of the postcard as tropical fish swam by, was a slender mermaid with the sunlight sparkling off the green scales on her tail. If that had been all, Harry might only have been embarrassed. What mortified him was the fact that this one was not blonde, but had red hair, brown eyes, and light freckles across her nose.

* * *


	13. Diagon Alley

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 13 - Diagon Alley**

* * *

Hedwig's first stop was Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes in Diagon Alley. Hedwig swooped into the shop and deftly turned and flew into one of the back rooms where Fred and George were standing at a counter eating sandwiches and mixing ingredients in a small cauldron.

Fred looked up to see Hedwig flying toward him. "Looks like we've got a message from Harry. That's new."

"Children these days," George said without looking up from the cauldron. "They never write."

Hedwig landed, and waited for Fred to untie their letter. Once it was off, she gave a single hoot and took off again, flying out of the shop on her way to Grimmauld Place.

"It's... Oh this is priceless." Fred tossed the postcard over to his brother, and nearly fell off his chair as the first wave of laughter hit him. George responded similarly, but recovered fairly quickly. He reached into his pocket to retrieve his Obscuring Orb.

"No!" Fred shouted as he grabbed George's hand. "Have you lost your mind?" He grabbed the postcard from George and rummaged through one of the drawers for a moment. Triumphantly, he pulled a single sheet of blank parchment from it and sat back down next to George.

He carefully placed the parchment over the postcard and tapped it with his wand. Slowly, the scene from the postcard seemed to flow into the parchment, making an exact copy. It even moved like the postcard.

"Willoughby's Cloning Parchment. A marvelous invention," Fred said with a smile.

"Brilliant," George agreed.

George finally revealed Harry's letter and started reading it. He passed the letter to Fred, who was still chuckling over the scene on the postcard.

"Harry wants one of his favors," he announced.

"Figured he would," Fred replied.

"Might be a little expensive."

"It won't be a problem," Fred said as he scanned the letter. "That postcard is worth a fortune."

"You suppose he fancies our little Ginny?" George said as he picked up the parchment copy.

"Hard to say," Fred answered. "I warned Moody about those Orbs. They get to know their users after a spell, start using bits and pieces of their thoughts. Completely random, usually. Anyway, Harry's practically family."

George nodded. "I guess, but I don't know if Ginny sees it that way."

* * *

With the softest ruffle of feathers Hedwig passed through the window and made a graceful landing on the table which had only recently been cleared of the evening meal. A number of Order members were present that night, but Ginny had still ate at the table with Ron and Hermione. They were sitting across from Lupin, Tonks, and Bill.

Everyone turned to stare at Harry's owl, dreading the news it might be bringing. Moody walked loudly toward the table and a few of the Order members at the table stood up. Ginny tried to back away as Hedwig hopped toward her, but then relaxed as Hedwig stopped in front of Remus Lupin and held out her leg.

"Er... what's that?" asked Ron as he cocked his head to try and see what the letter had been concealed as.

Lupin quickly untied the postcard, and looked at strangely. He looked up and a sharp bark of a laugh escaped his mouth. He looked away, covered his mouth and tried to pretend nothing happened, but he seemed to be quickly searching his pockets at the same time.

Bill leaned over, and his eyes darted quickly to Ginny. "What?" she asked defensively. Tonks grabbed the postcard, but dropped it and covered her mouth, as she too broke out laughing. Ginny and Hermione finally got a good look at it, but Ron was too far to see it clearly.

Ginny's eyes opened wide and she started to blush furiously. "I'll... er... I'll get my dad," she said and started walking to the fireplace.

"I'm right here!" Arthur said as Ginny strode past him. Lupin had given up searching and had snatched the postcard off the table.

"Was that a mermaid?" Ron asked, causing Ginny to whirl around. A number of other people were now curious and made their way to the end of the table to see what was going on.

"Erm... Yes, I believe so, Ron," Lupin said dismissively. "Hermione, you do have your Obscuring Orb with you?"

Hermione hopped out of her seat and tossed the small sphere to Lupin who immediately revealed the letter. Ginny slowly walked back to see what Harry had to say.

"Ah, of course!" Lupin said as he read the letter. "Relax, everyone, Harry's just wants Molly to pick up his things from Diagon Alley for him."

"What was up with the mermaid?" Ron asked suspiciously, "Why was everyone laughing?"

Tonks broke out laughing again. "She looked familiar—" she started to say, but stopped when she saw the look of desperate pleading on Ginny's face behind Ron. Bill's face went completely blank, and Lupin pretended to be concentrating on Harry's note.

"Familiar?" Ron said with some disbelief. "Where would you lot have all seen the same mermaid?"

"Prefects Bathroom," Bill said evenly as he started reading over Lupin's shoulder. This was followed by a number of people saying things like "Yes, that's what I thought," and "Of course, I thought she looked familiar." Tonks merely nodded her head vigorously. She still seemed to be fighting a battle with her laughter.

Ginny silently wished for the conversation to end, but Ron was giving them a dubious look. "So, when have you been in the Boys Prefects' Bathroom?" he asked Tonks, whose face turned an odd scarlet that clashed with her orange hair. Even Lupin started laughing as Tonks lamely tried to come up with a reason. She gave up, and instead turned back to Ron with her eyes narrowed and a mischievous grin.

"I think I'd be more interested in when Hermione has seen that mermaid."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. She had, of course, never seen the mermaid, since it was in the boys' bathroom. She didn't even know if it looked at all like the mermaid on the postcard. She was caught in her own lie, and now Ron was looking strangely at her.

Ginny tried to sit back down without Hermione noticing, but she failed and got an accusatory glare from the older witch. Ginny wished she could just disappear. She wanted to find her Mirror and yell at Harry for even thinking of sending off a letter that looked like that.

"Hermione, Ginny," Lupin began as he passed the letter for others to read. "Harry wants to know if you'll do him a favor."

Ginny nodded but Hermione made strange noise like a strangled laugh. "Harry wants a favor? After— And now..." She was smiling and shaking her head, but didn't look happy.

Lupin was smiling as well, but looked much more calm, "I know he'll appreciate it, and you know he'll return the favor."

* * *

The next morning the Weasley family (and Hermione) took the Floo to Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes in Diagon Alley. Fred and George were waiting to welcome them. They offered them tea, coffee, biscuits and fruit. Everyone turned them down, acting more like the offered food were poisoned than merely likely to make them glow purple or turn them into stoats.

"Told you they wouldn't do it," George whispered.

"Well I had to try, didn't I?" Fred responded quietly.

The lot of them left a moment later, leaving Lee Jordan alone to tend the store. Fred and George explained that they didn't expect the day to be that busy, and that they had some important errands to do anyway. They ate a relaxed but boisterous breakfast before preparing to start the days shopping.

After a trip to Gringott's, they headed directly for Flourish and Blotts, where they spent some time hunting down the small library of books that Hermione would need for the next year. She had been a little disappointed in only getting ten owls, two short of Percy and young Tom Riddle, but she refused to take Divination and had been quite distracted during her Astronomy examination.

Ron had done almost as well as Harry, but hadn't done nearly as well in Potions. Somehow he'd been given an OWL in Charms, though he could not figure out how. "I mean, it was a nice mushroom, but the plate was supposed to be cleaning itself," he told Hermione.

When they left, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were each carrying a bag of books. Ginny's bag was the lightest, since she would be re-using some of Ron's old books, and so she had offered to carry the few books that Harry needed. Molly gave Ron and Ginny some money and told them she'd meet up with them again at lunch. Bill gave Ginny an odd smile and then left with Molly, leaving the three of them with the twins.

As soon as Molly was out of sight, the twins grabbed Ron and Ginny and started leading them down the street.

"Hey! Where are we going?" Ron shouted as Fred steered him around a group of chattering old witches.

Ginny was a little more annoyed but less able to stop George from leading her away. "I'm coming!" she said with an annoyed voice, "You don't have to pull. I'll come along willingly."

The stopped in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies. Ron looked through the windows longingly. "You know, I'd have come with you if you simply told me you wanted to show me something." The twins gently pushed them in the store, letting Hermione follow.

"Oh, we're not here to show you anything."

"We saw the beaters you replaced us with last year—"

"—and we realized that you're going to need some protection—"

"—and Ginny's going to need a new broom."

Ron turned and scowled at them both. "Right, like either of us have money for that. Why can't she just use one of your brooms?"

"Sold 'em," George said, "We used the money to make the sign for the shop."

"So how are you going to get her a new broom?" Ron asked.

"We're not," Fred said simply.

Ron looked completely confused, but Ginny quickly followed Fred and George to the back counter.

"Broom for Ginny Weasley," George announced in a clear voice.

"Of course, Mr. Weasley," the shopkeeper said as he disappeared into a small room behind the counter. A moment later he returned carrying a Nimbus 2001. "Our last 2001," he remarked. "A fine broom for a fine price."

"You're mental if you think that a cheap Nimbus 2001 isn't seriously defective," Ron said, still surprised at Fred and George's odd behavior.

The shopkeeper looked offended. "It is in perfect condition, and it is not _cheap_. It simply isn't in demand, anymore. Furthermore, it's already been paid for." The old wizard laid the broom on the counter and handed a roll of parchment to Fred. "The bill of sale as well as the certificate of ownership, all in Miss Weasley's name. Will Miss Weasley be carrying it out, or shall I have it delivered?"

"You can deliver it to our shop," Fred said with a smile. "Lee will be around all day. We'll make sure it gets to her."

"Will that be acceptable, Miss Weasley?" the shopkeeper asked Ginny. She nodded quickly. The old wizard handed the broom to his assistant. "Very well, sir," he said with a nod. "Thank you for your business, and please pass my thanks on to the other gentlemen."

Fred and George thanked him, then proceeded to walk about the store looking for new guards for Ginny and Ron.

"Mum will understand. It's really for your own safety," Fred announced. They pulled out a small bag of Galleons to pay for the other equipment, and arranged for it to be delivered as well. As they left the store, the twins said they had to run off, but that they would see them for lunch.

Hermione was eager to finish shopping before they did anything else, so she dragged them off to Magical Menagerie where she and Ron purchased treats for their pets. The store was crowded. It had just received a new batch of salamanders which wizards purchased to keep their fireplaces burning as long as you could convince the salamander to stay put. In practice, they had a tendency to wander, and thus required short fences around the hearth to keep them from starting chairs and drapes on fire.

"I think I'll just wait for you over there," Ginny said, pointing to a small bench nearby. Ron and Hermione waved and resignedly walked into the crowded store. Ginny reached into her pocket and pulled out her Mirror. She said Harry's name and a moment later he greeted her with a smile.

"Morning," Harry said cheerily.

"Oh, you're going to be all cheery then, are you?" Ginny said flatly.

Harry's face froze in fear. "What? Did I— Did I say something—"

"I saw the postcard, Harry." That was all she needed to say. Harry's face started reddening dramatically. She tried to keep from laughing and ruining her fun. "So did Lupin, of course. And Tonks. And Hermione, and Bill—"

"Bill?" Harry exclaimed, his face now getting paler by the second.

"Yes, Bill. Ron, too," she finished. Harry felt positively ill. What would Bill and Ron think? Why did he care what they thought? What was he afraid— He stopped as Ginny suddenly burst out in laughter.

"That's not funny, Ginny!" he scolded her, "What if they had seen it?" He couldn't put his finger on the reason why it was so embarrassing. Perhaps he was worried that everyone would realize that he and Ginny were still communicating.

"Oh, they saw it alright, but it turned out alright. Lupin covered for you, and you really need to buy Hermione a nice birthday present for keeping her Obscuring Orb with her at all times. Bill didn't say anything because he's always liked me."

What would they all think? To be honest, Harry himself didn't know just what to think of it. So long as no one asked, he'd be fine. "What about Ron?" he asked. Ron would be the only one who'd press him for answers.

"Ron," she snorted, "Ron isn't terribly observant, is he?" Harry silently agreed. "At least the twins didn't see it. I'd never hear the end of it—" Harry winced as she said this and she noticed "—Harry? What was that for?"

He tried to break it to her gently, but it was like trying to gently tell someone that their house had been eaten by a magically engorged mole. Harry wasn't sure how she'd react and was relieved a little when she just sat silent and pale, revealing each and every freckle on her face. It was better than screaming, since she wouldn't have to explain why she was shouting at a mirror to everyone around her.

"The day was going so well, too," she said flatly. "You know Bill and Charlie bought me a new broom? And Fred and George bought me new guards and took care of the delivery. And now I have to eat lunch with them. How dreadful." Ginny was staring at him blankly, but he could tell she was trying to think of something to say. "Why, Harry? Why didn't you rewrite the notes?" she finally asked in a pleading voice, as if rewriting them now could undo the previous night.

He explained how he'd tried and that they kept getting worse. At least, that's what he said. He hadn't been able to bring himself to get rid of the last note. It was still sitting near his bed, smiling and waving to him.

"Erm... Why did they all look like me?" she asked. Harry didn't have an answer. He'd tried to figure it out all night. He'd already discounted all theories that might explain it. Except one. He was trying not to think about it, but he knew he couldn't hide from it. He'd gotten quite good at hiding his thoughts from others, and he'd been hiding this one from himself.

"Harry?" she whispered. "I've got to go. I still want to know why. I'll try to talk to you again after lunch."

"Oh! Quills!" Harry said quickly.

"What? What do quills have—" Ginny said quickly as she tried to hide her face. Ron and Hermione were almost out of the store.

"No, I need more quills! I've broken two since the start of the holidays. I forgot to put them on my list!"

"Right," Ginny said. "Bye Harry."

Ginny looked up just in time to see Ron and Hermione stopping in front of where she sat. "What's that?" Ron asked just as Harry faded from view. "Is that a mirror?"

"Yes, it's a mirror, Ron," Ginny said as she stuffed it back in her pocket, "You look at it and it looks back? Seen one, have you?"

"Were you talking to it?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Talking to it? Mirrors aren't usually that entertaining. I was just trying to remember everything I needed, and ended up talking to myself." Hermione accepted the answer with a shrug, and they left.

The three of them walked off down the street stopping in Slug and Jiggers so Ginny and Hermione could restock potion ingredients. Ron was quite pleased that he would not need to. As they passed by the second hand robe shop they stopped. Ginny sighed as she searched the windows for something she might actually like.

"Mum said she'd buy us robes after lunch. No use ruining our appetites now," Ron said glumly and they kept walking.

One of their last stops was the store next to the Quidditch supplier, where they all needed parchment and ink for the next year, especially Ginny. She'd be writing even more essays than usual in preparation for the O.W.L.s. Ron carried the list Harry wrote, and Hermione was carrying the extra supplies he'd asked for.

As Hermione was paying for Harry's supplies, Ginny cried out, "Oh! Wait!" as she ran back into the shelves and then reappeared seconds later with three plain but high quality quills.

"He doesn't say he needs quills," Ron said as he searched the parchment for any other places Harry might have written. "I know he's rich, but it's rather pointless if—"

"Of course he does!" she said dismissively. Ginny had hoped they wouldn't question her. "Just look at the list! The tip on this one is all worn out." Hermione added another three Sickles to the pile of coins on the counter and put the supplies with Harry's books. As they left to go back to the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione gave Ginny a dubious glance.

Ginny remained mostly silent throughout lunch. The twins made no mention of the postcard, and if Harry hadn't told her she would have felt certain they'd never seen it. After lunch she'd hoped to have some time to talk to Harry, but instead Molly said she wanted to go and buy the dress robes so she could wait for Arthur to show up.

"We'll buy Ginny and Ron's robes here and Harry and Hermione's at Madam Malkin's," she announced as they reached the second hand robes shop.

"That won't do, Mum," Fred said airily. "You go and wait for Dad. We'll take Ron and Ginny to Malkin's and buy their robes." Molly protested a little, but was mostly surprised by the sudden generosity of her sons. She relented quickly, encouraged by the hopeful looks on Ron and Ginny's faces, and after giving a quick hug for each of the twins, she casually walked back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"What's this for?" Ron asked as they walked, "What cursed confection am I going to have to eat because of this?"

"You could try a Shut-Up Sherbet if you still want robes made this century," Fred replied.

"You can't, actually," George whispered to the rest of them, "We haven't quite finished them. The last batch left Lee without a mouth for most of a day."

As they looked around Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Ginny made her way to the robes she'd been hoping for. Somehow she'd got her wish. The twins would buy them for her, and she hadn't even had to blackmail them. She couldn't wait to tell Harry.

_Harry._

The name echoed in her mind. Only two people knew how desperately she'd wanted these robes: herself and Harry Potter. Harry had sent a note off to Fred and George the night before, not long after she'd told him. Ginny turned and watched as the twins tried to talk Ron out of bright orange robes which had been hung in the corner behind a large trash bin and a coat rack. She had to get them alone in here. Hermione was in some other area of the store trying to choose between deep blue and dark maroon robes.

The twins eventually pushed Ron into a small dressing room with some a nice set of black robes with dark orange accents. Ginny took the opportunity to corner them, literally.

"Why is it you two suddenly so generous?" she whispered. They feigned offense at her question, but it didn't stop her. "If you were planning on buying us robes, why didn't you do it earlier?"

"Didn't you like those green ones, Ginny?" Hermione asked from behind her, "I thought they'd look quite nice on you."

Fred smiled, "Yeah, you'd look almost like a—"

"—Slytherin!" George interjected, as he clapped a hand over Fred's mouth. "You don't want those robes, Ginny. Pansy Parkinson bought them last week."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up. "And why are you so interested in those robes?"

"Well, they're bloody comfortable, and I like feeling pretty," Fred replied. George smiled and laughed.

"Why are you buying us robes?" Ginny asked, staring intently at Fred.

"We're just paying you back for all the help—"

"—unwilling in many cases—" George added.

"—all the help you gave us in setting up our shop and getting Mum to forgive us for doing it."

Ginny's eyes widened, but she kept staring at Fred. "You're lying," she said simply, and she was certain he was.

"We're under a solemn oath to ensure that all Weasley's are properly attired for any formal occasion," George said as formally as he could. But when Ginny asked who the oath was to, they only said they weren't allowed to tell.

"It's Harry, isn't it?" she said. It was more of a statement than a question. She was certain now. "Harry asked you to do it, didn't he?" The twins responded with silence.

Ginny stalked off as George called out to her, "We're not lying about those robes, though. Pansy did buy them."

Hermione followed Ginny as she started calmly looking around the store. "Are you upset?" she asked.

Ginny let out a disappointed sigh as she moved to another rack. "Yes," she finally said, "I really liked those robes."

"What about Harry?" prompted Hermione.

Ginny didn't respond. She felt she should perhaps be angry, but she wasn't. Her stomach felt light and she had to focus on not actually jumping from one rack to another. She felt... excited. She grabbed some deep red robes and held them up for Hermione. Hermione smiled and nodded.

Ginny draped them over her arm and headed off to a dressing room. Ron had already emerged from his, and Hermione smiled as she walked by with the deep blue robes she'd chosen. He rolled his eyes at the witch who was busy adjusting the fit with discrete flicks of her wand.

Ginny took the Mirror out of her pocket when she got into the room. There were two large mirrors on the wall, and both of them seemed a little upset. "Oh, we're not good enough, are we?" one said, "Witches these days are so distrusting, why back in my day—"

"Quiet, the both of you," Ginny commanded, "You'll get your turns and you'll keep quiet if you know what's good for you."

"Thinks she knows what's good for us! Disrespectful little—"

"_Silencio!_" The other mirror silenced itself with a little shocked gasp.

Back at Privet drive, Harry had waited patiently for the familiar shimmer of his Mirror meaning Ginny was trying to talk to him. He knew what she'd ask when she saw him. He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but he really didn't want to say it. Finding a date for the Ball seemed to be a much less stressful thing to do. Though, perhaps the two weren't as different as he first thought.

When he finally saw the faint flicker, he wasn't sure if he was glad the waiting was over, or afraid of what would come next. Either way, he didn't expect what happened.

"Thank you, Harry," she simply said.

"Err... Wait— What?"

"Thank you for the dress robes," she explained.

"They were _supposed_ to keep it a secret," he said after he realized that she wasn't going to ask him the question she'd said she would.

"They tried, but they aren't known for this type of behavior. Hold on, I'll try them on and you can tell me what you think of them."

She put the mirror face down on a shelf and quickly changed robes. Her stomach was fluttering and she was smiling. She was going to have completely new dress robes to wear.

Harry's stomach was doing much the same thing. The Mirror wasn't completely on the shelf, and before he realized what was happening, he could see Ginny's bare knees and calves in a corner of the mirror. It wasn't indecent, but his heart was beating a bit faster and he found it a little hard to swallow.

Finally he saw a dark red fabric cover her legs and the world spun in front of him to reveal a smiling Ginny. She turned the Mirror to face one of the large mirrors. "So?"

The dark red material shimmered lightly as she moved. It was mostly fitted, but hung loosely around her arms and legs. Harry had trouble talking and could only get out a few words. "Not the green ones?"

"Pansy Parkinson bought a set of them."

"I like the red ones," Harry replied immediately.

Ginny laughed, and decided that now might be as good a time as ever to talk to Harry quickly. She tried to sound conversational, "So, do you know why the mermaids looked like like me?"

Harry froze. He tried to talk but he wasn't ready anymore. "Well, yes I... I think— I think that I— er... "

"Ginny?" Hermione called from outside, "How are they?"

"They're great," she said shortly, then turned back to Harry, who had paused when he heard Hermione.

"Well? Let's see them then," Hermione said loudly.

"Aaargh. I'll be right out." She turned back to Harry and frowned. "I'm sorry, I have to go," she whispered dejectedly, "I'll try to talk to you again soon."

It took some time before Ginny and Hermione were both finished having their robes fitted, and a little more time to have the robes paid for since the clerk didn't trust the twins and decided to send someone to check with the goblins at Gringott's about their ability to pay the bill.

While the twins waited at the counter, Ginny and Hermione walked about the store quickly trying to find something for Harry. They talked and whispered to each other until the decided on a set of black robes not unlike Ron's, but with green trim to match his eyes. The twins complained only slightly when the clerk stated that he would personally see to paying for the robes from Harry's vault.

As they left the store, the twins invited them over to their shop to get a proper tour. They walked around as the twins pointed out all the things they'd recently invented. Ron and Hermione seemed to be enjoying themselves, but Ginny wished she could simply leave and find a bench to talk to Harry on. Finally, the tour ended, and they left the twins to tend their shop.

Ginny took her new bags and walked off to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor where she found herself a table in the corner where she wouldn't draw attention to herself. She took out a book and her mirror and attempted to get comfortable in the hard chair. She checked to see that no one was watching her, and then called for Harry.

"Ginny? What is it?" he said as his face drifted into focus in the mirror.

"Oh, nothing." she said as she tried to hide behind her book. "I said I'd try to talk to you again. It was getting a bit dull."

"And you figured that I would be waiting around my room just in case you needed someone to entertain you?"

"You did answer pretty quickly, Harry," she laughed.

"Yes, well the Dursleys aren't the most interesting lot." he replied. Harry paused and seemed to be struggling with some decision. "Ginny... I.. err...I did want to ask you something..." he trailed off and seemed a little nervous.

Ginny felt the same twinge of hopeful anxiety return. "Ask me anything, Harry."

"I want you to think about this," he said. "Don't just do it because I bought you— a gift." Ginny's heart started beating faster. "I wanted to know if—"

"Oi! Ginny!" a voice called out.

Ginny squeaked and pulled the mirror into her lap. "You! You're here." she said while trying to keep the disappointment off her face. Not now, she groaned to herself. Not him. "I didn't know you were going to be here. How long are you going to be... here?" she finished lamely.

"A while," he said with a smile. "Long enough to share some ice cream. I haven't seen you all summer. Will you be here for a while? We might be able to sneak off somewhere quiet and—"

"Ice cream sounds great!" she said, cutting him off.

"Brilliant. I'll be right back," he said as he disappeared into the shop.

"Harry?" she whispered, "I've got to go for a bit."

"You look— Who was that? Is everything alright?"

"Yes," she said a little louder. "It's nothing, really. I'll tell you about it a little later."

"Tell who?" a new voice asked.

"About what?" a second added.

Ginny groaned again and began reaching for her bag. "Fred, George, now _really_ isn't a good time." She needed to put the mirror away. Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to try and talk with Harry.

"Checking yourself out in that mirror again?" George asked.

"Yeah, Ginny, why so vain today?" Fred asked as he quickly pulled out his wand.

"_Accio Mirror_!". The mirror was wrenched from Ginny's grasp and flew to Fred.

"Does it do anything interesting, or does it just convince you that you're taller than you are?"

"Give that back this instant, Fred Weasley!"

Fred looked at the mirror in confusion. "Why? You can't even see your reflection in it, it's horribly blurry."

Ginny stood up to go and take the mirror back, but instead Dean came back and handed her a large bowl of ice cream which was gradually turning from a violent orange color to an odd green.

"Dean!" George called out. "We didn't know Ginny had planned to meet you here." He gave Fred a strange look, but Fred simply shrugged.

"She hadn't. I just saw her here. It was complete luck." he said as he pulled a chair out for Ginny. "We were going to share some ice cream."

"—Alone!" Ginny added with her frustration now showing. She noticed that the mirror in Fred's hand was still hazy. Harry must still be listening. Panic suddenly struck her, she didn't want him to hear anything more. "And give me my mirror!"

"Ah. Our dear sister wants some special time with a boy."

"It's not like she's had a chance to spend time with anyone other Ron and Hermione," George replied. "I'd want to spend time with Dean after six weeks of that."

"I agree," Fred said with a nod, "but she did get to spend some time with the Magnificent—"

"Fred!" Ginny shouted. It was louder than she had intended, but it had stopped Fred from finishing his sentence. "Both of you, could you just go?"

"We never get to see you anymore, Ginny," he said attempting to sound concerned. "Whenever we visit, you're always locked in your room writing love letters, or something."

Dean's head jerked to look at George. George looked at Fred, who was still poking and searching the mirror for any interesting functions. Suddenly he realized that he missed something.

"What? What did he say?"

Dean purposefully looked at George. "She's been writing letters?"

"This isn't the time—" Ginny started to say, but no one was listening to her.

George shrugged. "Yeah, she hides most of the day, and everyone's seen owls flying to and from her room late at night."

"George, It was only—" she paused, trying to control herself, "Fred, give me the mirror and go! Take my brother the detective with you."

Dean turned to Ginny. "So," he started as he stepped toward her. Ginny looked away. "Would you like to go to the Ball with me?"

Ginny's eyes slipped to the mirror still firmly in Fred's hands. "I don't know, Dean. The Ball's not for months."

"Is there a reason why you don't know?" His voice held a hint of suspicion.

"I can't talk about it right now."

"Well, we are still going out, aren't we? Can you at least tell me that?"

"I don't know." Ginny said. Her emotions were mixing and getting stronger. She was angry and embarrassed and horribly afraid of what Harry was hearing and thinking. She needed to leave.

"Why not?"

"I said, I can't talk about it," she replied, her voice low with frustration and anger.

Fred gave up on the mirror and became engrossed in the drama being played out in front of him. He leaned toward his bother. "What did you say to start this?"

George shrugged, "No idea, but it seems I've started a bit of an argument. It's a bit novel not being part of it though."

Dean turned toward the twins, with a weak smile. "I haven't gotten any owls from Ginny since the start of summer holidays."

Fred and George looked at each other in shock. George spoke up first. "Well, then who've you been writing to?"

"That's none of your business!" Ginny shouted. She noticed that there were a number of students who were watching as well, though they tried to make it look like they were simply doing other mundane tasks like paging through upside-down books and dusting off brand new robes.

"Is it my business?" Dean asked.

Ginny was quite angry now. "No!" she said sharply. "Give me my mirror. I'm leaving."

"You haven't been writing to Harry without telling Moody again, have you?" Fred asked curiously.

"No— It's—"

"Someone else, then?" Fred asked as he nodded in amazement. "Our sister has quite the complicated love life."

"...well, she isn't a little girl anymore. Do we know him?"

"I'm—not—telling—you." Ginny said slowly.

"Do I know him?" Dean asked bitterly. "You aren't obsessing over Harry again, are you?"

"No— I mean.." Ginny sighed in frustration. "I'm not going to talk about this here."

"You dumped me for some prat who you can't even admit going out with?" he shouted. Dean stared at her and shook his head. "I thought you had more self respect, Ginny."

"No, that's not it at all—"

"Fine." he said testily as he grabbed his bag. "Enjoy the ice cream. I have to be going." Dean walked off through the small crowd that had gathered to watch the argument.

"Right then," George said. "That was unexpected."

"You two," Ginny growled as she rounded on the twins with narrowed eyes. "You couldn't just leave and let it be, could you?" She started walking toward them. "Give me the mirror and just leave! I have to find someone."

"Sorry, Ginny, I didn't know—" George said as he backed away. "I didn't know that you— you had a secret boyfriend, I guess Tonks said something, but I just assumed—"

Fred was still laughing, though. "It's quite impressive, really. You've got—"

"—had—"

"Right, you _had_ Dean, Mr. Mystery on the side, and Harry to keep you company while you couldn't see either of them. Still, two out of three is better than average."

Before Fred even thought to try and escape, Ginny's wand was out and pointed at his throat. There was a flash of light and Fred was suddenly sitting on the ground with a surprised look on his face. Ginny picked up the mirror and looked at it. The shadows were swirling away, revealing a normal looking mirror.

Harry had just left. Ginny's stomach lurched and she suddenly felt very sick. She was about to walk off when Ron and Hermione came running up. The rest of the crowd was slowly dispersing.

"What's going on?" Ron asked. "We heard Ginny shouting." He looked at Ginny and seemed to shrink away from her. "She looks a bit ill, as well." Fred was still on the ground, but sitting. He looked as pale and ill as Ginny. "And what'd she do to Fred?" Ron asked.

George smiled and nodded to Ginny. "Boyfriend troubles. She— Wow, that's bloody revolting..."

Fred had just coughed up a rather large slug.

"Right. I know just what we need for that." Ron said as he dumped everything in his bag into Hermione's bags, causing her to drop them and look quite annoyed. He handed the empty bag to Fred. "I'd say I feel sorry, but— well... you probably deserved it."

Fred nodded sickly, and tried to say something, but instead of words, a pair of slugs came out of his mouth.

"That's —Blimey—" George said, looking away. "I'd really love to try and sell that, but— Ginny, why?"

"You had to say that in front of everyone, didn't you?" she said angrily. "Everyone will think I'm secretly dating someone now, and I look like some sort of... tart!"

"Well, Ginny, you were stringing three boys along—" Ginny's wand flashed out again, but Ron had already jumped between them.

"Don't Ginny. There aren't any extra bags."

"They can _share_! I only went out with Dean twice. I never said it was more than that! Three boys! Honestly!" Ginny was shouting again. "If I lose my chance with—" she stopped, and took a deep breath. "If I do, no dress robes in all of Britain that will save you."

Fred swallowed and looked up. "So there is someone! I figured—"

George winced at the newest slug. He stepped back as it started inching toward him. "I don't think it's going to make the _Prophet_, Ginny. Whoever he is, he'll never even hear about it."

Ginny's anger was gone. With the posture of an angry, defeated young woman, Ginny tossed the mirror into her bag. "Oh, I'm pretty sure he'll have heard about it. I'm going home." She picked up her bag and walked away.

* * *


	14. The Schizm

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 14 - The Schizm**

* * *

Ginny had walked as quickly as she could to the twins' shop. She needed to use the fireplace in their private office. It was one of the very few fireplaces that could take her back to Grimmauld Place. She had hoped to avoid Lee and any questions, but instead found him in the office wrapping some new creation. She wanted to leave before anyone could follow her, but decided she could spare a minute or two.

She made some excuse for leaving without the others, but then started questioning Lee on all the new things they'd been working on. It didn't take long until Lee told her what she needed and when he had his back turned she pocketed a pair of small sweets, said a quick goodbye and vanished into the fireplace.

She tried to talk to Harry many times that afternoon, but saw only blackness and her own face. She'd convinced Lupin to let her send Harry's supplies to him immediately, and had folded a quickly scribbled note around his new quills.

She felt horrible. She felt as sick as she ever had, and her seething anger was exhausting. After two hours of trying to talk to Harry, she fell into a fitful sleep filled with dreams of the soft voice of Tom Riddle as he forced her to lure Harry Potter to his death.

She awoke sometime later with a start. Hermione was leaning over her with a worried look on her face.

"No one's seen you since this afternoon," she explained. "And when I came to check on you, you were calling out in your sleep. Are you feeling alright?" Ginny stared into her eyes.

"Am I feeling alright? No, I'm not. I'll kill them. I swear I will. I'll strangle them with the robes they bought me."

"What are you talking about? You're sure you're not ill?"

"No, I'm not sick," Ginny responded weakly. She sat up, and saw the Mirror sitting beside her in bed. Her hair was messy, her face was pallid and her eyes were bloodshot. She stood up and searched for a brush.

Hermione tried talking to her as she brushed her hair over and over again. Ginny wasn't in the mood to really join in any conversations, and she kept most of her responses to only a few words.

"Does this have anything to do with what happened at Diagon Alley?" Hermione recoiled at the sudden expression on Ginny's face. "Fine, I won't make you talk about it." Ginny went back to brushing her hair and Hermione sat quietly and waited patiently for her to finish.

There was a knock at the door, and Hermione immediately walked over to open it, possibly hoping for some excuse to leave Ginny. It was Bill, and he had Ginny's new broom. She gave him a gracious smile and thanked him for the broom. He tried to deny it, but Ginny simply stared at him until he admitted that it had been him.

"Just don't tell Fleur, alright?" he asked her. "She doesn't really see the point of Quidditch." Ginny agreed and sat limply on her bed.

Bill gave her a concerned look. "You don't look so good, Ginny. Come down and eat some food. The twins are here, so it'll be—" Bill paused to look at Hermione who was vigorously shaking her head at him "—What?"

"Fred and George? They're are here, are they?" Ginny had come alive suddenly. A bright, peaceful smile spread across her face, but her eyes had a wild, mischievous look. "Sounds _brilliant_. I'll even help with the food."

Ginny walked quickly to the kitchen and began helping Molly with more energy and than she'd had in weeks. "I thought you said she looked ill," Molly had said to Hermione as Ginny handed out Butterbeers to everyone at the table. When all the mugs had been placed, she purposefully took her seat across from the twins, who seemed a bit worried about her cheery mood. They were correct to be concerned. Shortly into the meal, Fred gave his mug a funny look.

"Er... Its got an odd flavor, this butterbeer... Almost like—"

"—Watermelon? Not bad, really, but—"

Ginny made a show of trying the mug in front of her. "Hmm. Mine tastes normal," she said serenely. "I wonder what would make them taste like watermelon?" She went back to searching out a bit of potato in her stew and eating it peacefully, but the twins turned to look at each other, and then their drinks.

They tried to call out. Ginny couldn't make out what they said, no one could. She didn't even look up. She continued to eat her stew as the twins jumped out of their seats, causing a pair of Aurors to rush and see what had happened. A number of other wizards stood up to try and help. Some, like Hermione, were frozen in shock. Some, like Molly, were upset and wanted to know what was going on. Many, like Ron, simply laughed at the twins who'd finally had the tables turned on them, but only Ginny remained seated at the table, eating as if nothing were happening and smiling as if the stew was the most glorious food she'd ever tasted.

Her smile faded eventually, and she'd adopted a passive, somber expression while Molly scolded her and ordered her to clean her room and the new room they'd found in the attic. Ginny knew she probably wouldn't have been punished if her Mum had known the whole story, but no one told her, and even those who had already heard of what happened at Diagon Alley refused to share the story while Ginny was in the room.

Harry wasn't much better. He'd felt like a fool when he remembered that Ginny had been going out with Dean at the end of last term. What had he been thinking? She'd had a crush on him when she was younger, but people change.

He'd felt somewhat encouraged by the news that Ginny didn't seem all that excited about going out with Dean, but his spirits fell immediately upon hearing that she'd been sending someone owls regularly. They'd stopped doing that as soon as Lupin had given them the Mirrors, and it would explain why Ginny usually waited until quite late to talk to him.

Looking back on his holiday, he realized how silly he'd been. She really was just repaying a debt, much like Snape had when he'd saved Harry his first year. Harry tried not to be angry with her. He felt guilty about having her disobey the Order all that time, but didn't ever stop her.

She'd sent a note with his supplies. She was apologizing, but Harry didn't want to read it so he burnt it without reading much more than the first few sentences.. She'd tried to contact him with her Mirror constantly the first day. The next day it had been less often, but he'd still grown weary of seeing the mirror flash on his desk. The next morning when he woke to the soft flash of light from the mirror, he'd taken the Mirror and packed it in his trunk.

The mermaid postcard still sat next to his bed, but he'd turned it over so he didn't have to see it waving and smiling at him. He hadn't yet gathered the desire to destroy it. He wasn't angry with Ginny. He really wasn't. He was disappointed. It really had been much like Cho. As soon as he got the nerve to ask her, he'd found out he'd lost his chance. It was his fault, really, but he didn't want to talk to Ginny about it.

The only person he wanted to talk to was Hermione. She seemed to know more about these situations. He'd considered sending her a note but Hedwig had left the day before, after having enough of Harry's attitude. Even the Dursleys had left him alone. Perhaps they felt that there was nothing to do now that he was properly dispirited about his life.

The three days had taken their toll on Ginny as well. She hadn't smiled since the night she'd put the Shut-Up Sherbets in the twins' butterbeers. On the third day, she began to feel more like herself, and quickly decided that she'd had enough.

Ginny decided that she really wanted to speak with Harry and was ready for more drastic action. She gathered all of her Gryffindor courage and knocked on Hermione's door. When Hermione let her in, she saw what she was hoping for: Icarus. Remus Lupin's owl was perched near the desk where Hermione had been writing on some parchment.

"Who are you writing to?" Ginny asked.

"My parents." Hermione replied, "I try to send them something every few days. They worry about me." Hermione sat down at the desk but just looked at Ginny.

Ginny looked at her feet. "I have a favor to ask you."

"I see," Hermione answered, though she looked more confused than she did before. "What kind of favor?"

"I need to send a note."

The corners of Hermione's mouth twitched. "Moody keeps a spare owl around all the time."

Fear tugged at Ginny's face. "Yes, well, I don't really want to bother him with something trivial like this."

Hermione sat back in her chair. "Well, I'm not sending this until sometime tomorrow." Ginny slumped a bit, but tried to hide her disappointment as she slipped a piece of parchment back into her pocket.

"That's fine," Ginny mumbled. "There's no rush, I guess."

"You're a dreadful liar when you're under stress," Hermione said with a stern glance. "I am sending this tonight." Ginny looked offended, but her eyes opened a little showing something like hope. Hermione relaxed a little.

"So why don't you want Moody to see it?"

"No reason. I mean— It's just a note. It's really short and it's not like I'm revealing our location."

"Who is it to?"

"Oh, I figured I'd just tell Icarus who it's for." she said nervously. "You know, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Of course," Hermione nodded skeptically. "Does this have anything to do with what happened at Diagon Alley?" Ginny forced herself not to scowl. Why couldn't Hermione just do it without interrogating her?

Ginny held the note out. "Will you send it?" Her eyes were pleading with Hermione to stop asking questions.

Hermione just stared back into Ginny's eyes. "What's going on Ginny?"

"Ron wouldn't ask me all these questions," she complained, getting more and more frustrated.

"Yes, well I wouldn't be amazed if Ron was hit by a falling tree and didn't ask any questions. He really is _quite_ ignorant when it comes to understanding women, isn't he?"

"What does that have to do with this?"

"You haven't smiled in the three days since we came back from Diagon Alley, but it's not about Dean. There's something else. Now you're trying to sneak a note past Mad-Eye. He wouldn't care unless—"

"Please Hermione," Ginny pleaded. "Please don't make me talk about this now."

"It's a note to Harry?"

Ginny didn't say anything, but her hands stopped moving and gripped the note instead.

"We'd have heard from the Aurors if he was in any danger." Hermione stood up and started pacing. It had been a while since she had tried to solve a problem like this, and she was enjoying it. "But you're worried, so maybe you haven't heard from him. But you don't get owls from him. At least, not anymore," she said with a hint of sympathy. "Hedwig only uses the parlor window now and she never has letters for you."

Ginny held up the note again. "Please let me send it. I don't want to go to Ron about this, but I will, if that's the only way." Her face looked desperate, but Hermione ignored it, and continued on.

"Yet somehow he knew to have the twins buy robes for you. He must have even told Fred and George which ones you wanted," she said triumphantly. "And you knew he needed quills. So it was more than just an owl—" Her mouth dropped and her eyes opened wide. "Was Harry at Diagon Alley with his cloak?"

"No."

"And you haven't heard from him since then?"

Ginny didn't say anything, but she looked suddenly sad and ashamed. It was only a matter of time. Hermione was putting it all together. She'd been stupid to think she could hide this for two months.

"You think he's upset about whatever happened at Diagon Alley, but he wasn't there..." she said thoughtfully as she paused in her walking. "If anyone should be upset it would be Dean, or perhaps Fred and George, or whoever you dumped Dean for, whenever he finds out." She walked to Icarus, who hooted at her.

"Wait— You said it yourself," Hermione said as her eyes opened wide, "There wasn't anyone else. There was only Dean, Harry—" she flopped down on her bed, looking more worried, "—and this mystery boy." Ginny was silent, and looked away from Hermione's shocked glare. "It's Harry. You dumped Dean because of Harry?"

Ginny looked up again, "I— No..." Ginny stuttered as she rubbed her forehead. "I didn't dump him. We weren't going out. We went to the Library together twice!"

Hermione smiled lightly. "I see. That crush on Harry came back, did it?"

"No," Ginny said as if she were trying to force both of them to believe it, then added in a soft voice, "it's different this time."

"Oh," Hermione's amused smile turned into a sympathetic one. "So you think Harry's upset because he wouldn't want anyone to know about the two of you?"

Ginny had given up. She might as well tell Hermione everything. Harry wasn't talking to her anyway. Hermione couldn't do any more damage. With glassy eyes she turned back to Hermione.

"There is no relationship. I don't think there ever will be, now."

Hermione walked to Ginny and sat her down on the bed. "You just have to talk to him before he finds out about Dean. It's not like he hears much gossip. If you tell him first—"

"He already knows."

Hermione was surprised. "How? Did you tell him? Is that why he isn't responding?" Ginny just shook her head. "Well how much could he know, then?"

"Everything, I'd say." Ginny said with finality. Her head dropped and she covered her face with her hands. "I think he heard it all. Right up to the point when the twins announced how I was just using him until I could start dating the boy I'd been lying about and hiding from him."

Hermione winced at the realization of what they twins had said, but seemed to be even more confused.

"So he _was_ there?" Ginny shook her head weakly. "Then, what? He— He heard everything, but he wasn't there... He was watching —or listening— from somewhere else..." Hermione jumped off the bed and stared at Ginny.

"That mirror! You kept taking it out, and the twins had it when—"

"Those stupid prats just wouldn't shut up and give it back to me!"

"And now Harry's upset with you?"

"He won't talk to me," Ginny said as she flopped back on the bed. "I think— well, I'm pretty sure he believes Fred and George —which he should know not to—" she added angrily, "and he's probably jealous now."

"He's jealous?"

Ginny winced. "Maybe. He was really jealous of Cedric when Cho turned him down for the last Ball."

"How do you—"

"He told me. He told me lots of things you may not have heard. He said he'd wished he could have talked with Cho like we talked."

"Does that mean—"

"I don't know! He won't talk to me."

Hermione gave a quick smile and then pulled Ginny off the bed. She moved quickly now, and with purpose.

"Well, let's get this note off to him. It should be short, and we don't want anyone else to understand it."

"Thanks," Ginny said with a smile.

* * *

Harry had given up on reading for the night, and had instead been trying out some of the charms he'd been reading about. He'd failed completely with some of them, but found that he was picking the others up faster than he'd thought he would. If Uncle Vernon had known was he was doing, Harry was sure he'd be back under the stairs within minutes.

There wasn't anything really unnatural in his room, and he was careful not to try new charms on things he couldn't replace. His bag was now waterproof for the next few weeks. Harry didn't have any water to use to test that, but it hadn't started on fire or turned to jelly, so he assumed all had gone well.

He'd found a number of new Parchment Blanking charms, and had spent nearly an hour on a set of Mapping charms he was convinced were used to create the Marauder's Map. He had tried to create a simple map of his room, but it was drawn very poorly and instead of seeing a dot where he sat, there was a large jumble of dots in the corner, and various other dots scattered about the misshapen room. He'd given up when he realized that the dots were marking the locations of all his socks. It might make a good Christmas present for Dobby, but he wasn't terribly concerned about lost socks tonight.

He sat silently on his bed. He wanted to sleep, but he just wasn't tired. He wanted the day to end. He looked at his alarm clock. It wasn't terribly large, and the ease with which he'd picked up the charms had him curious. He had avoided practicing any form of wandless magic, but he knew his current mood would make it easier. After a little concentrating, he succeeded in tipping his clock over, sending it crashing to the floor. On a whim, he reached out his hand, and the postcard leapt from the small stand into his fingers. His mood soured as he looked at it. Ginny must have been quite embarrassed by the one he sent to Lupin.

Just then, Hedwig hooted and Harry turned just in time to see an owl wheeling outside, waiting to deliver a note. It was Icarus. Harry opened the window and Icarus perched calmly on his shoulder as Harry untied a small letter from the leg it held out for him. The other leg held another, much larger letter. As soon as he was finished, the owl left without a sound.

It was a note from Hermione. Folded into it was a small scrap of parchment. He read the note first.

_You're doing a fine impression of Ron, but we much prefer you acting like yourself. You're only making things worse._

_Love, Hermione_

What was she on about? He wasn't in the mood for riddles tonight, so he tossed it aside and took a closer look at the scrap. It was small, and had been crumpled, but smoothed out. Its message was short and simple.

_Look at me_

It was unsigned, but Harry recognized the writing. Ginny had wrote it. The ink was smudged as if she'd been carrying it for some time.

Fine. Maybe Hermione was right. He could at least talk to her. She had been a good friend. He fetched the mirror out of his trunk and sat on the bed looking at it for some time before he finally decided it was time.

"Ginny Weasley."

The mirror went dark then slowly cleared, and for a moment he wasn't sure if he was hoping to see Ginny's face, or his own. It was Ginny's face in the mirror, but as soon as Harry saw it, he wished that it had been his own. He felt instantly ashamed. Ginny looked awful. Her face was pale, her eyes bloodshot and her hair hung in a tangled mess around her face.

"Hello, Harry," she said shyly.

"Ginny... What's wrong? You look horrible."

Ginny smiled wanly. "Thanks, I missed talking to you, too." Harry felt even worse than he had before. He got the sudden feeling that Hermione was right, as she always was. Harry had made things worse than they should have been.

"I'm sorry... I... What did you want?" Harry asked.

Ginny's eyes stared into his. "I wanted to talk with you. I've wanted to talk to you for the last three days."

"Oh," said Harry, "I didn't think— I didn't know that." Ginny's eyebrows raised and the smallest hint of anger glinted in her eyes.

"You didn't _know_? You mean you haven't noticed your Mirror flashing every hour? You didn't see me trying to talk to you that afternoon?" Harry didn't respond.

"Okay, so I did. Maybe I just wanted to let you spend more time talking with your new boyfriend."

"And what is it that makes you think I have a new boyfriend?" Ginny asked with a strained voice. Harry realized she wasn't asking him so much as prompting him, and he responded warily, "I heard it all Ginny."

"You heard it from _Fred and George_, you daft git! Merlin's beard, Harry! They told Ron and me that we'd have to face a troll before we got sorted."

She had a point. They weren't always the best source of reliable information. But then, she hadn't corrected them either.

"So, you didn't dump Dean for another bloke?"

"No, I—" Ginny gave a frustrated sigh. "Fine. Yes, I suppose I did."

"So what part of what they said was wrong?"

"I haven't been sending owls to anyone, Harry. Moody watches me like a hawk whenever an owl is nearby and his eye twitches whenever I so much as look at a quill. It took hours before I found a way I could get that scrap of parchment to you."

"So... Wait—" Harry said. His mind was swimming. "So... who...?"

Ginny was silent for a moment. Her eyes peered out of the mirror at him. "Harry, why did all the mermaids look like me?"

"I— It's nothing. I was being stupid. It's not important." Why did she have to keep asking that now. It _was_ stupid, wasn't it? He'd been so sure until now.

"It is important, Harry. Please?" she begged. Harry tried to dodge the question, but Ginny became stubborn and refused to move on. He tried to make an excuse, but she saw through it. "Don't lie to me, Harry Potter. Why did they look like me?"

"Because I like you!" he practically shouted, finally giving up. "I think about you all the time, and I thought the robes would make you happy, okay?" He'd expected Ginny to laugh at him, or give him a patronizing smile, or even the same Sorry-Cedric-already-asked-me smile Cho had given him. Instead she let out a small sob. Oh no, he thought, this really is too much like Cho. But Cho had looked sad. Ginny looked... relieved?

"You stupid prat! How could you believe them? How could they have any idea what I was doing in my room _every night_. They guessed that I was talking to someone, but it couldn't be Harry Potter. All your owls are stopped by Moody or Lupin." Harry felt cold and warm at once. Why didn't he see this earlier. He knew it before Ginny even said it, "I dumped Dean because of _you_."

Harry felt horrible, but that couldn't stop the happiness. He was ecstatic. Neither of them knew quite what to say, so they both tried to apologize for all sorts of things that they didn't have control over. Eventually, Harry settled into a comfortable happiness. He was talking to Ginny again.

"Did Fred and George apologize to you?" he asked eventually. Ginny let out a clear laugh. Her eyes weren't so red as before, and Harry wondered if Madam Pomfrey had any potion that could have worked as quickly.

"They didn't talk to me for a while, but I know they're sorry."

Harry heard a muffled voice from the mirror, "They couldn't talk to you. They didn't have mouths,"

"Yes, well I say they got a taste of their own medicine," Ginny responded. Harry's heart stopped. Someone was with Ginny. "Who was that?" he asked in a clearly panicked voice.

"Oh, it's just Hermione," she replied, as if it obvious. It took a little time to convince Harry that Hermione wasn't going to report everything he heard to Moody. And it took Harry a while longer to get comfortable with the thought of Hermione knowing everything he'd said.

When he had, Ginny told him the whole story including the part where they were forced to wait for Lee Jordan to finish making the antidote to their experimental sherbets. It seemed so much sillier now, and he was laughing for the first time in three days.

There was so much he wanted to talk to her about, but the sudden release of all that tension had exhausted him. He apologized and said that he really needed to sleep. Ginny felt the same way. Three days without more than an hours sleep at a time had taken quite a toll on her.

He dressed for bed, and reached for the clock which zoomed off the floor and into his hand. He turned off the alarm and set it back on the stand before getting into bed.

He closed his eyes, but he still saw Ginny's face. It was comforting to him. He remembered the post card, and how much the mermaid looked like Ginny. He couldn't imagine a better use for Gillyweed. He imagined himself swimming off with her underwater, alone and secluded from the world where everyone knew him. She would swim ahead then turn and wait for him, smiling and waving as always. She swam ahead, and down a slope into deeper waters.

The water was darker than it had been in the postcard, and when she turned to smile and wave, he saw that her hair wasn't red, but a sleek, shiny black. Her beautiful face was marred by a menacing smile. It was a face burned into Harry's memory.

"Come along now, little baby Potter. Don't be fwightened..."

She swam off leaving Harry alone in the darkness, stuck in a giant swirly haze which forced him to follow.

* * *


	15. The Third Attack

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 15 - The Third Attack**

* * *

Harry's world swirled about him. He scolded himself for letting this happen. He'd let his guard down. He was having another vision. He felt the familiar pulling and tugging, and he dreaded the coming events.

The world around him slowly came into focus. He was in a home. It was a wizarding home. There were wizard photos on the wall. There were two people sitting in chairs nearby. Voldemort was standing in the center of the room, with his eyes closed. One of the people, a witch, was saying something. Harry tried to focus on the vision, in hopes that he could at least learn who these people were. He had no more desire to fight the visions or stop them or do anything more than try and discover any clue that might help him find out what Voldemort was trying to do.

"...What do you want from us?" the witch had been saying.

Voldemort started pacing around the room, as if he were searching for something. As his eyes scanned the walls around him, he addressed the family. "It seems you are not as clever as I first thought. I hoped this would not be necessary."

Harry tried to take note of the room. It looked like a struggle had taken place. Furniture and papers were scattered everywhere. Two wands were on the floor, one broken exposing a few strands of unicorn hair. He guessed that it had been a while since the fight had occurred and it didn't look like the other attacks. It seemed almost as if it were unplanned. There were only two Death Eaters in the room, both standing at the entrance to a hallway, but he could hear footsteps and voices coming from the floor above him.

"What are you talking about?" It was the wizard this time. "Why are you still here? Why not just kill us like the others? Did you make them wait for their deaths as well?" Harry saw him glance at the wands.

Voldemort turned to the wizard, "Oh, I haven't decided to kill you. At least... not both of you."

"Then why are you here? We won't help you. I'll die before I do that."

"Indeed." Voldemort turned and paced away from them. He stopped directly over the wands, and looked about the room. He looked at his captives and spoke to them as one would talk to a child. "Someone is in need of a lesson, and you _are_ going to help me."

"We will not!" the witch yelled. Harry looked at her and felt that he had seen her before.

Harry's stomach clenched as Voldemort laughed. "Your purpose will be served despite your defiance. So, by all means: _Fight back_."

"We'll die fighting you, then."

"That will be unacceptable," Voldemort said as he paced away from them. Another Death Eater had entered the room. Before he could even speak, Voldemort interrupted him. "Very well. Bring them in."

Harry wondered who was being brought in. He watched the Death Eater walk down the hallway behind Voldemort which led to the front door of the home. He strained to see what was going on. He could see a door opening, and more cloaked figures entering. He heard a gasp from the witch sitting near him.

Harry felt it then, as well. To him, it was only the chill one might expect when sitting near a drafty window, but he felt it even in this dreamlike state. The Dementors drifted into the room and paused to survey its occupants. There were four of them, tall and grotesque. Slowly, all of their hoods turned to face the same direction. Harry followed their gaze to find another Death Eater standing in the shadows beside a large bookcase. With surprising speed, the Dementors turned and rushed toward the cloaked figure.

"STOP!" Voldemort shouted. "Remember our agreement! You will obey or I will leave you alone and starving in the deepest dungeon I can find."

To Harry's amazement, the Dementors froze even as the first one had grabbed the Death Eater's shoulders. They turned to glide away as a clear laugh filled the room.

"Those days are over," a woman's voice proclaimed. "We share a master now, and you will obey me because I carry his will and authority."

The Dementors gathered around the two captives as the Death Eater walked forward to join them. She stood in front of the witch and smiled. "You do remember me, don't you?"

The witch simply stared back at her and shook. "So... cold..." she tried to say

"Yes, they do that," the Death Eater replied, "but you get used to it after five years or so. I barely notice now." She walked to the couple and stood before them. "Capella York. I do remember your face. I remember all of your faces. You remember mine, don't you?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange," she responded with disgust.

Bellatrix pulled off her hood and mask. As he'd seen in his dream, she had regained most of the looks of her youth. Her hair was straight and smooth, though less shiny than it had been. She looked older and crueler than when he'd first seen her, and any beauty she had was ruined by the hatred and arrogance in her eyes.

"I did it," the witch whispered. "Let him go. It was me, not him."

"Yes. It was you," Bellatrix said. "And for that _he_ will suffer. So will the others." She turned and walked away, casually looking at pictures on the wall. "You have a sister, in Spain. She works for the Gringott's branch," she said as she pointed at a picture.

Capella simply stared at Bellatrix. Bellatrix smirked and looked at the wizard sitting next to her. "He doesn't know, does he?"

Capella York turned to her husband next to her. "I was on the panel that convicted Bellatrix Lestrange of torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom."

Harry remembered seeing the trial. Or at least the end of it.

"And you have a child," Bellatrix attempted to say sweetly. "A third year at Hogwarts, but not a Slytherin," she added in a chastising tone.

"She's far from here. She's safe, and soon she'll be well beyond your reach."

Voldemort spoke up finally. "I think many wizards will be surprised to find just how long my reach has become." Voldemort walked to a window and gazed outside. "You may be brave when faced with your own death, but can you show the same courage when others are writhing and dying for what you've done?"

Harry was filled with an almost unbearable loathing and rage towards this creature he was forced to watch. He knew that fighting it was pointless, but he needed to do something, anything. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he had to try. Suddenly there was a cry from behind Voldemort. Randall York was going to fight were Harry could not.

"No!" he said as he stood from his chair. "You'll never hurt her! _Accio wand_!"

Harry felt the world slow down. He could feel the magic in the air as the wand jumped from the floor toward its owner. He felt a swell of hope. He might not be able to defeat Lord Voldemort, but perhaps he could save his family.

But it took only a split second for the Death Eater in the Hall to send a stream of red light into the room narrowly missing Randall. Bellatrix had her wand out and lunged toward him, launching some curse. The silvery surge of sparks from her wand was faster than the wand, and it lanced through his hand with a sickening crack of bone. Voldemort turned and with only a wave of his hand, the falling wand shot off toward its master again stabbing him in the thigh.

The world sped up, again. Randall York dropped to the ground, screaming. His hand was bleeding freely, but not so much as his leg. Voldemort walked to where the wizard lay struggling against the pain.

"That was foolish."

Randall composed himself. "Why?" he asked through clenched teeth. "You'll kill me anyway."

"You are correct," Voldemort said as he motioned for more Death Eaters to enter the room, "but you are being punished for her actions, so she must be punished for yours. Your daughter may be safe for now, but her sister is not." He nodded to the Death Eaters. "Fetch them."

A group of three Death Eaters Disapparated, and after less than a minute, they returned through the fireplace with three more people: A man, a woman, and a small child, all bound.

"Kill one of them."

"Which one?" Bellatrix asked as she raised her wand.

Voldemort didn't even turn to look. "It doesn't matter." Instinctively, Harry looked away. He knew what was coming.

"_Avada Kedavra_".

After the flash of green light, the room became silent. "What do you want? Why are you here?" Capella shouted through her tears. "It's more than just revenge."

Voldemort was slowly walking about the room. "I have already told you: A lesson must be learned."

"What lesson?" she yelled. "What are we supposed to learn from this?"

Voldemort laughed. Harry's anger rose again. How could he laugh at this?

"The lesson is not yours." He nodded to Bellatrix.

"_Crucio!_" The witch bound by the fireplace convulsed in pain. She wasn't even able to scream.

"Please, stop! What do you want? Who's lesson is it?"

Harry watched as a pair of Death Eaters entered the room. He knew what must be coming, and he knew he couldn't prevent it. But he couldn't control his rage. It wasn't fair. These people hadn't done anything. They weren't even offered any way to prevent it. This couldn't happen again. _No!_ his mind shouted, _Not another family!_

But Voldemort was laughing again. "You're very close now," he hissed.

"Close to what? What are you talking about?"

The two Death Eaters levitated the bound witch, and Bellatrix pointed her wand at her. "_Abiego!_". The witch struck the far wall and fell limply to the ground.

Capella cried out as tears streamed down her face. "It's someone else, isn't it? Its not any of us."

"_Crucio!_!"

Randall spasmed and struggled, trying to escape the pain.

"Who is it? Who are we being punished for? The Ministry? Albus Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore?" Voldemort laughed. "_Abiego!_!"

Randall York was picked up off the floor, and broke through the window. Harry was having trouble controlling his fear. He wanted it to end. He didn't want to see any more.

Voldemort walked to the fireplace, and knelt by the small girl there. "_Finite Incantatem!_". The girl sobbed, and looked back at him with tears in her eyes. Harry tried with all his might to stop this vision. He had to end this. He had to stop Voldemort from controlling him.

"Do you know Harry Potter?" Voldemort asked. Harry's blood ran icy cold. No. It couldn't be.

The girl simply stared back. "Everyone knows him. He defeated you. He beat you twice. He'll do it again."

Harry couldn't hear the words over the screaming of the child's aunt, but he knew the familiar green flash.

"Why?" she asked. "He's just a boy."

"No! He's more than that." Voldemort picked up a picture of her daughter. "What I have given him has made him much more than he should have been. But how much more?" He grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "Your child is safe for now. Will you trust Potter to protect her? Will you put her life in his hands? When I send my loyal servants for her, will you trust Potter to stop them? When she is in your place, will you trust in his protection?"

"Yes," she sobbed.

"And for that you'll remain alive. I want you to be able to see the result of your foolish decision."

Harry's mind cried out in anger and hatred. "_No! No more! If you want me, attack me_!"

Voldemort looked around the room again. "The lesson has been learned. Harry Potter, let me introduce you to Mrs. Randall York."

"Stop this. Attack _me_!" Harry cried out.

"I will." Voldemort hissed as walked to the hallway. "Bellatrix, I believe you have something for Mrs. York."

"I do."

Voldemort slowly walked out of the house, pulling Harry along with him. When he reached the cool night air, he raised his wand.

"_Morsmordre!_!".

There was a sickly green glow which illuminated the area as Harry heard screams coming from the house. They lasted longer than Harry thought he could endure, but he found the silence which followed to be even more unbearable. He wanted to go. He wanted to run, but he was tied here, to the most horrible wizard in the world.

"It's done," Bellatrix announced from behind the point where Harry was watching Voldemort basking in the light of the Dark Mark. Voldemort's voice echoed in his head as his scar burned and throbbed.

"Off you go, Potter. Go tell all your little friends."

* * *

Harry rolled out of bed, feeling quite sick. He had trouble standing. His legs weren't cooperating and his whole body was shaking. He stumbled to the window and opened it, but to his horror, the Aurors weren't there. A hundred horrible ideas ran through his head. Had Voldemort killed them? Was he nearby, waiting to kill Harry now that he could barely walk? Had they left thinking that he didn't need them anymore? It didn't matter. He needed to let someone know immediately. He had only one choice.

"Remus Lupin," he croaked at the Mirror. The Mirror darkened and then cleared to show his own face. Remus wasn't there. He tried again, but still nothing. Had Voldemort killed them all?

"Ginny Weasley!" he choked. A moment later, Ginny's face appeared in the Mirror.

"Harry? I'm dead tired, Harry, and it's three in the morning. I swear I'll talk to you later today, but—"

"You have to f—" his voice failed "—have to find Lupin!" he interrupted. "He's not answering and... There was— There was an attack. The Aurors are gone. I can't see them, and—" Ginny's eyes snapped open and Harry could tell she was getting out of bed quickly.

"What am I supposed to say?" she asked frantically. "Do I say I just have a feeling something bad happened?"

"I don't know," Harry said as he gasped for breath, "Find Lupin. Find Hermione. Find someone. Her name... York... Randall York... She might still be alive..." The world was swimming around him again. He felt dizzy.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Ginny called, but he couldn't see her face anymore. He seemed to be surrounded by black cloth. Was this another vision? Why was Ginny screaming? The world around him went blank.

* * *

Harry awoke to the bright sunshine streaming in through his window. Where had the night gone? Had he had a vision? He couldn't remember anything more, but what he did remember seemed horrible enough for a lifetime of visions.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter. You couldn't even make it through the holidays without my help, I see."

"Now Poppy, I daresay Harry's done more than any of us these last few months, and with less sleep it seems."

"What time is it?" Harry asked. "...and where am I?"

"You are exactly where you were, roughly twelve hours ago when Arthur Weasley found you lying unconscious on the floor. The Dursleys have been kind enough —though just barely— to let Poppy and I treat you here. However, I do not believe Arthur will be welcome here again. It seems he gave them quite a startle when he came to check on you."

"Have you been avoiding sleep, Mr. Potter?" Madam Pomfrey asked him as she stirred up a potion. Harry was relieved to see that it looked more like a light tea than the sludge he'd been fearing.

"I— er... haven't—" he was startled by the raspiness of his own voice "I haven't been avoiding it, but I haven't gotten much either."

"Well, you need to get some more, this should help you sleep enough to feel all new. Should be about a day or so."

"No!" Harry said, startling his visitors, "I mean— Can't you leave it and I'll drink it tonight? I don't want to sleep just yet." Madam Pomfrey looked to Dumbledore, then back to Harry.

"Is there a reason you haven't been sleeping?" Harry felt a little embarrassed to say exactly why, but he felt too groggy to come up with any good reasons.

"Er... girl trouble, I guess." Madam Pomfrey gave an annoyed snort and shook her head mumbling, "Of course... just what he needs..."

"Is it any girl I'd know?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.

"Is there any girl I know who you don't?" Harry replied. Dumbledore laughed loudly.

"May I have a moment with Harry, Poppy?" he asked. Madam Pomfrey frowned and walked out reluctantly.

"What happened to me?" Harry asked as soon as she left.

"Poppy will undoubtedly come to the same conclusion I have. Some forms of magic can be quite exhausting, even more so when they are performed without a wand."

"The vision? But... the others didn't..." Harry paused. He hadn't tried to speak those times. He hadn't fought so hard. "Why doesn't he get tired? He's the one controlling them."

"Is that what happened?" Dumbledore asked. "Did you try to guide the vision?"

Harry paused to think. He had, and yet he'd done much more than that. He was certain that he'd actually spoken to Voldemort. What would happen if Dumbledore knew that? It didn't take long for Harry to imagine the answer: another year spent isolated from the Order. He wasn't going to betray the Order. It had taken everything he had just to say a few words. "Yes... I tried to stop it. I tried to run away." Harry felt only slightly guilty. It was, after all, most of the truth. "Why didn't it affect him?"

"Perhaps it did, but he has spent much more time practicing such things. Until you learn to control it, you will tire quickly. Many wizards would be lucky to be awake after only a good night's sleep." Harry stared at Dumbledore, reading the answer the old wizard wouldn't say: Voldemort didn't tire because he was more powerful than Harry was.

"You still need your rest, but you are otherwise quite healthy. Am I correct in guessing you wish to stay awake so you can see what news you hear about last night?" Harry nodded. "I may be able to help there." He stood up, and closed the drapes.

"Last night's attack was sudden and hasty, yet not completely unplanned. To be certain, it was less secretive. You did not see the Aurors, because they had already been called away. The Aurors were called to investigate a pair of odd green flashes seen from the house of known wizards. Remus Lupin was already trying to find the other Order members when you tried to notify him. Ginny found him almost immediately though, and I do not think anyone even noticed her."

"What about the... Are they all—"

"No, not all of them," Dumbledore said quickly. "Capella York was still alive when the Aurors showed up." Harry's eyes brightened and he started to sit up, but Dumbledore's face still looked grave. "I'm afraid she is still in St. Mungo's. She's in no danger—" Dumbledore said quickly in an effort to calm Harry, "—but she is rather... ill. The wizards there cannot work out just what is wrong with her. She seems to be showing the symptoms seen in wizards who have spent too much time in Azkaban, yet she could not have spent more than ten minutes with the Dementors."

"She was... alone with Bellatrix Lestrange. She did something," Harry said through his teeth. "I know she did."

"I see. That may be more useful than you realize. There is also something else, which you may be able to understand more than others." Dumbledore paused to look into Harry's eyes, and Harry felt suddenly defensive, as if Dumbledore was about to accuse him of something. "Mrs. York is mostly incoherent, but for a time after they found her she was still able to speak, and even now the wizards attending her swear they occasionally hear her mention your name."

Harry simply nodded his head. Dumbledore continued. "I don't think there is anything else I need to ask you. Was there anything else, anything at all strange or noteworthy about your vision?"

Harry could feel Dumbledore's eyes on him as he looked at the ceiling. What was he supposed to tell him? _Oh, nothing really abnormal. I just had a little chat with the most evil wizard of our times after he tortured a family just to get to me._ He knew he should tell Dumbledore, but he couldn't right now. He wanted to talk to Ginny first.

"They fought back," he said instead and Dumbledore nodded in confirmation. Harry quickly explained what Voldemort had told the woman. "Her daughter... I think Voldemort means to attack her as well."

"Unfortunately, I'm certain you are correct."

"They said she was away... that she was safe. Is she?"

"I believe that she is. Very few people know where she is, and even were they to find her, they would not do so without notice. You don't need to worry about her, Harry."

But Harry did. He remembered the vision. Her mother had said she trusted Harry to protect her. He couldn't just let Voldemort use her to torture her mother even more. He'd have to find her. The Death Eaters wouldn't think twice about killing any number of Aurors, but Harry was almost certain they wouldn't touch him. Voldemort would want to kill Harry himself.

"Who is she? What house is she in?"

"That information is quite dangerous right now. You will learn it soon enough. I don't believe there is anything I can do to prevent that, but I have a bit of reading to do until then. It is a matter which I am certain we will speak of again." Harry was annoyed by his cryptic response, but he'd say no more on the subject, despite Harry's protests. Instead he pressed Harry for anything else he might have seen. Harry became annoyed and decided to be just as difficult. After only a few attempts, Dumbledore gave up.

"I shall let you get your sleep," he said stiffly. He seemed puzzled, and looked like Harry often felt while playing chess against Ron. "Or perhaps you would like some time to think before sleep." Harry nodded. He wanted some time to speak with Ginny. His mind still felt cloudy and slow.

He allowed Madam Pomfrey back in, and she immediately fussed over him for a few moments before giving his potion one last stir, and replacing the stopper. With a nod, the two of them Disapparated.

Alone, Harry felt his exhaustion return. The vision was still fresh in his mind, despite the twelve hours which had passed since he'd had it. He was now certain of many things, and Dumbledore's words had convinced him of some others. As he looked over at the stand where his clock, mirror, and the mermaid postcard lay, he felt quite discouraged. It wouldn't end. It wasn't fair. Hadn't he done enough?

With a mixture of reluctance and anxiousness, he took the mirror and called for Ginny. She appeared seconds later, with a relieved smile stretching across her face. "You're okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Harry replied, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He disliked fainting, and had grown to utterly despise being reminded of it by others. At least Malfoy wouldn't know about it. "I'll be fine, I'm just really tired."

"What happened?" she asked, "Dumbledore and Lupin were really worried."

"I talked to him," Harry said.

"To Dumbledore?" Ginny questioned.

"No. To _him_. I talked to Voldemort." The color drained out of Ginny's face. "I'm not quite sure how yet, but I'm sure that he's been trying to get me to do it for some time."

"You mean—"

"They were attacked because of me. All of them. He wanted to get me so angry that I'd want to talk to him."

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "So that's it then? He'll just stop now?"

"He won't stop," Harry said plainly. "They aren't just visions anymore. I can feel some of what he feels. I can feel some of his emotions and thoughts. I don't think I've ever felt so much hatred and anger, it's... " Harry trailed off, trying to remember as much as he could. "He hates me, but he's afraid of me."

"He won't stop," Harry repeated with more certainty. "Not until one of us is dead. That's what the prophecy said. In the end, we'll have to face each other. He doesn't know that yet, but its what he suspects."

"You don't have to do it alone, Harry. Ron and Hermione would follow you even if you tried to stop them. So would I."

For a moment, Harry felt a swell of happiness. He remembered the six of them standing against the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries. But his blood chilled with the memory of words that held new terror for him. _Very well— take the smallest one... Let him watch while we torture the little girl..._ "No! Not you," he said forcefully.

"And why not me, Harry Potter?" she responded. Anger played behind her eyes.

"I couldn't take it if you..." he started, as his mind started running though all sorts of terrible things that could happen. "We can't do this, Ginny. You have to stay away from me. It's not safe."

"And where will it be safe, Harry? Where would anyone go to escape him if he wins?" She had a point, and it only made Harry understand the pressure on him more acutely. He didn't want to have to do it alone, but he didn't want her to get hurt either.

"I just don't want you to be another one of Voldemort's victims." The anger left Ginny's face, but it was replaced with a sad, hollow look.

"I already am."

He'd forgotten again. It was always so easy to forget. Voldemort might not have taken as much from her as he had from Harry, but Ginny had suffered more than Ron or Hermione. He sat in silence as he tried to decide what to say next.

"Look, Harry, we don't have to tell anyone," she said in a much softer voice. "Not until we know who we can trust. We'll just be good friends to everyone else. Hermione already knows, of course. Would've been silly to even try to hide that from her. Dumbledore knows, and I'm sure Lupin has a pretty good idea."

"What about Ron?" Harry asked.

"I don't think we have to worry about Ron," Ginny said with a laugh. "Not like I'd tell him anyway." Harry still felt a little unsure of the idea, but he was too tired to form any complaint. Ginny smiled at him, and he started feeling better about it.

It could work. They didn't even have much to keep a secret. They really weren't much more than good friends, were they? He'd never had many friends, but Hermione had never made him feel like Ginny did. He felt himself getting dizzy, so he laid down. Ginny could tell and she did her best impression of Molly.

"You go off to bed, now, Harry," she said with a smile, then in her normal voice, "We'll talk tomorrow." Harry reached over and downed the contents of the flask Madam Pomfrey had made for him. It wasn't sweet, but neither was it bitter or sour. It was slightly fruity. As he tried to figure out which fruit, the world slipped away around him, leaving him asleep on his bed, clutching the small mirror.

* * *


	16. Platform Nine and Three Quarters

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 16 - Platform Nine and Three Quarters**

* * *

When Harry awoke the next day, he felt more rested than he had in quite some time. He even spent some time looking through his Potions text in an attempt to see if he could discover what potion Madam Pomfrey had used. It could come in handy.

He gave up some time later finding only a potion named 'The Sleeping Life', which seemed to be quite similar to the potion he'd drank, except thankfully the potion he drank made him sleep for a only day and not a whole month.

That fact was quite fortunate, since according to his calendar, he was to be at King's Cross in only six days. He'd already gone through his small room trying to keep track of where everything he owned was. He was very eager to return to Hogwarts. It was the first summer he'd spent entirely apart from his friends since he'd first gone to Hogwarts.

The next few days were difficult for Harry. He was anxious to get back to school and his friends. He was both excited and nervous about seeing Ginny again and talking to her. He was paranoid of any sleep he got, afraid it might simply be the prelude to another vision of Voldemort torturing and killing another family. And finally, he was growing suspicious of the Dursleys.

Over the last two days since he'd woken up again, his aunt and uncle had been uncharacteristically civil toward him. It wasn't the restrained politeness he'd gotten when they were afraid of him hexing them. Instead, they kept starting small conversations and slipping in questions or suggestions about Harry returning to Hogwarts.

"You're going back to...er... that school of yours, are you?" Uncle Vernon had asked him one morning over a weak breakfast of dry toast and grapefruit. "Sunday, is it? Eleven in the morning?" he asked. Harry nodded but kept an eye on him as if he might suddenly turn into a Death Eater.

The next day, only two days before he would leave, Uncle Vernon surprised Harry again over dinner. "Are your... erm... friends going to be picking you up?" Harry could see that Vernon was forcing himself to be civil, but he didn't know why.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I expect I'll hear quite soon." Somehow this seemed to please Uncle Vernon, while Petunia seemed to have developed some fear of the chicken on her plate. Dudley stopped eating and scowled at Harry. He'd spent the last week doing that. It had the odd effect of actually making Dudley seem more intelligent than he was.

"Well why don't you tell them they shouldn't bother and that we'd be glad to see you to the station." Vernon attempted to look cheery but failed. Petunia's smile was even less convincing, and Dudley didn't even attempt to smile, but wore the same scowl Harry had become accustomed to.

No one had told Harry how he'd be getting to King's Cross, but he'd hope that someone had planned something slightly better than riding in a car with Vernon Dursley. He'd told Ginny about the Dursley's odd behavior, and she'd suggested that perhaps they were simply scared of seeing Dumbledore again.

Harry doubted this, and had asked her to try and find out how he was to get to King's Cross. It didn't matter, as late that night, a Hogwarts owl delivered a note from Dumbledore explaining that Arthur Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt would be picking him up at eight in the morning for an early ride to King's Cross.

Harry had considered telling the Dursley's about this, but they seemed oddly happy about taking him themselves, and he decided he'd rather sneak out early in the morning. So, instead he played along, and Vernon's nearly manic response upon hearing Harry agree only made Harry even more eager to leave early.

Harry had spent most of the night packing up all of his belongings into his trunk. The only things not going in were Hedwig's cage (and Hedwig), a set of robes to wear for the sorting ceremony, and his wand.

He was both eager and nervous to go back to Hogwarts. He was anxious to rejoin the wizarding world, but he was worried about the school itself. A war was starting. Hogwarts was safe from Death Eaters, but it may not be safe from its own students. While the Order was fighting the Death Eaters, he worried about what would happen between the D.A. and the Inquisitorial Squad. The Inquisitorial Squad didn't exist officially any more, of course, but then the D.A. never had.

He decided he should try and sleep. He was going to be leaving early the next day, and he would probably be up most of the next night talking with Ron and Hermione. He didn't know what to do about Ginny.

His room was very dark. So dark that it was difficult to tell the difference between closing his eyes and leaving them open. As he lay waiting for himself to fall asleep, he thought of Voldemort's most recent victims and their daughter who had been spared. He wondered if this was how Molly and Arthur felt. He felt an obligation to Capella York to protect her daughter and he couldn't help but worry about all the things that might happen. What if Death Eaters attacked her on her way to the station? What if she missed the train and was left alone? What if she simply never showed up? What would he do?

His mind conjured images of him frantically searching Platform 9 3/4 for her. In his mind there was no train on the track and he was the only one left on the Platform. Then the picture changed. He could barely see and he couldn't seem to find his way to the passage to the rest of the station.

Then he noticed the platform was dark. The moon was poking through the clouds and shining off the rails. Why was it dark? He noticed there were torches along the wall providing contrast between the center of the platform and the shadows along the walls.

Something wasn't right. He was dreaming, but it was more real. Was it another vision. If so, where was Voldemort? He was indeed at Kings Cross. Where was Voldemort?

Slowly, a strange feeling crept into his mind. Voldemort was here. Harry could feel him. A moment later he realized the impact of that revelation: Voldemort was on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. In a matter of hours hundreds of students would be gathering here to board the train to Hogwarts.

Harry shouted into the blackness, "TOM RIDDLE!" When he got no response, he tried something different. "This is the way it's always been, hasn't it? Coward!"

He could hear a faint hiss of laughter.

"Skulking in the shadows?" Harry goaded. "You bring me here and hide from me? I don't even exist here, and yet you're afraid of me?"

The laughter died. Harry looked all around him. Then, behind him, he heard the soft footsteps of heavy, worn boots on stone. He turned toward the noise and saw a shadow advancing toward him.

"Good evening." Voldemort said. "It seems you're still angry about our last meeting. It had to be done. We are connected, but it isn't fair if it only goes one way."

He stopped in the light of one of the torches. "Even now it's still unfair. I can't see you, but you can see me. You can see what I see, but I cannot see what you see."

He started walking down the platform. "At least, not yet."

"Yes, it's quite unfair. Kind of like having your parents and godfather murdered," Harry retorted.

Voldemort was making his way toward the passage. As he walked, Death Eaters appeared out of the darkness and walked behind him. There were many more than Harry had hoped would be here. He wondered if the Aurors could stop them before the students showed up. He needed to tell Remus right away. He needed to get away from this vision.

"Albus Dumbledore is still keeping things from you," Voldemort said as he walked toward the barrier. "He doesn't want you to understand. He wants you to be his puppet. He is controlling you in the same way he fears I might, in time, learn to control you."

"I know," Harry said.

"Indeed?" Voldemort said, with a laugh. "Perhaps you are learning quicker than I expected, though that will not change your fate."

Voldemort stopped at the barrier. "Life, it seems, is unfair by its nature. I spent ten years learning that lesson. You will learn it today."

He passed through the barrier onto Platforms nine and ten.

Harry passed through the barrier after him, and he was immediately struck with a wave of sickness. Scattered around the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters were a decent number of lifeless bodies. They all looked to be Muggles, men and women, but thankfully no children. The ground was covered in a large pool of blood. Farther down the platforms, a pair of Death Eaters stood in the shadows, trying to stay out of sight.

As Harry was watching, he saw a Muggle policeman run over to one of the bodies.

"You there!" he called out to Harry and Voldemort. "What have you done, here?"

A woman's voice echoed down the platform, "_Iaculo!_!" The policeman was jerked back as a bright light pierced his shoulder.

A second, nearer voice echoed the first: "_Iaculo!_" This time a jet of sparks from Voldemort's wand sped through the man's chest, and he immediately dropped to the ground. Harry realized now, that there were a number of bodies much farther away. They were apparently the ones who came around and saw the scene that had been prepared for him.

Harry overcame his revulsion. "They were powerless against you. What does this prove? You show how powerful you are by killing defenseless Muggles?"

"No one doubts my power," he said with a sickening laugh. "All things will be made clear to you in time," he continued as he headed back to the barrier. "Hurry back, young Potter, and give my greetings to Albus Dumbledore."

Harry jumped out of his bed, suddenly awake. The dream was still fresh in his mind, though he doubted he'd be forgetting it any time soon. He felt exhausted, but it wasn't nearly so bad as the last vision. He forced himself to stay awake. He needed to let the Order know. He turned on his lamp and realized immediately that he'd packed everything.

He rummaged through his trunk looking for his Obscuring Orb, some parchment and whatever quill he could find. Eventually he found everything he was looking for, and he began haphazardly packing everything back in, before giving up and sitting at his desk. He could repack later.

He began writing quickly.

_Lupin,_

_The Death Eaters have set up an ambush at Platform 9 3/4. Many Muggles are dead._

_Voldemort is there._

_They're on both sides of the barrier, and there are a lot of them. Voldemort's planning something more. I don't know what it is._

_Harry_

He wanted to tell Lupin to have Ginny talk to him, but he didn't know how. Finally, he decided on something truly vague, in case Moody or anyone else saw it.

_P.S. Tell anyone who who might want to speak to me that I'll be up all night._

After it was Obscured, he tied the note (now instructions for a fire extinguisher) to Hedwig's leg.

As he threw open the window, he quickly gave orders to Hedwig. "Take that to Grimmauld Place. Give it to the first person you find. Go as fast as you can."

With a soft rustle of wings, Hedwig sailed out the window. Harry watched as she flapped her wings quickly to gain speed and height as she flew off. Below him, on the street, he saw both the Aurors stand. He took his wand, and waved it slowly at them. Clarence Stafford disappeared with a pop.

Harry sat on his bed. It was early in the morning, and the sun still hadn't risen. As he looked out his window again, the world began to feel very dark and cold. He was reminded of the dream he had before his first vision. Had he made some poor decision? Was there some wrong choice that had caused all of this?

He tried to tell himself that he didn't believe in such things. He didn't have prophetic dreams. His dreams were always about reality and the horrible things that were happening right now. Yet, at the same time he couldn't forget the Prophecy which bound him to Voldemort.

Did Voldemort know that Prophecy yet? How long would it take? How long would Harry have to wait before Voldemort learned that there was nothing special protecting Harry. Well, nothing beyond Albus Dumbledore. Harry felt less like a hero and more like a prisoner.

He had been a prisoner all his life. Ever since Voldemort took his parents from him, he'd been hidden away, removed from the world where he belonged, removed from any world. Even at Hogwarts he had to struggle to escape the groups of people seeking to keep him safe. But he'd never been safe. He was always imprisoned.

He always would be imprisoned. He'd never escape Voldemort. He was too strong now. It would be years and years before Harry could ever be strong enough to face him alone. Harry would be dead long before then. His was a sentence of death.

But maybe, just maybe, something could be done before then. He didn't know what good it would do, but he couldn't just abandon his friends. Harry had no idea what that might mean doing, but he was prepared to do it.

The first glow of the coming sun could be seen to the east. He looked out his window to look at it. It seemed appropriate to him at that time. He felt like a part of that small glow of light, facing an insurmountable dark. Was he living through the dawn, or dusk?

Clarence appeared again, suddenly. He talked quickly with Magnus, but then turned to look at Harry. With his hands stretched wide, he shook his head. They didn't know what was happening.

Harry closed the window and then put on some clothes. He slowly walked down the stairs and out the front door. The two Aurors had been joined by a pair of other wizards, most likely another pair of Aurors. They appeared much more serious than Clarence and Magnus. They looked more like Mad-Eye Moody, though without many of the battle scars. When Harry reached the other side of the lamp lit street, the Aurors spread before him in a semicircle.

"You did signal us," said Magnus Montnor. "It looked serious."

"I did," Harry said darkly, "and it is."

"And we're just supposed to _know_ what's going on," growled one of the new Aurors. "You woke us up because you had—" He stopped suddenly with a look from Harry.

"Where did the owl go, Harry?" Magnus asked, quickly.

"To Arthur Weasley and Remus Lupin."

"What happened?" Clarence finally asked.

"Death Eaters are attacking King's Cross," Harry said simply. "They've set up an ambush at the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

The other new Auror grunted. "King's Cross? It's four in the bloody morning! Why? The Hogwarts Express doesn't leave until eleven o'clock." He frowned at Harry. "Getting an early start, are they? Or is this supposed to be some prophecy. I've never held with prophecies. A load of rubbish, all of it."

"It's not a prophecy," said Harry angrily. "It's happening right now. They're killing Muggles."

"Really, now?" he said in a very patronizing tone. "Well, I suppose we best check it out so the lad can get back to sleep."

"Voldemort is there," Harry said.

The pair of older Aurors hesitated, but it seemed it was more because of the use of the word 'Voldemort' than the actual news. "I don't think he'd be there without us knowing. Hampton is there, keeping an eye out, but Shackleton would have me cleaning fireplaces if I didn't follow up on a tip from the Great Harry Potter." With a nod to his partner the two of them disappeared with faint pops.

Harry stood there numbly. He wanted to worry about them, but his mind was occupied with more worrisome issues. How would they get to Hogwarts? Would they close Hogwarts? What would happen when students began showing up?

"How bad is it, Harry?" asked Magnus. He looked troubled by Harry's silence.

"It's bad."

"How many of them did you see?"

"I'm not sure..." Harry started, "Twenty?"

"Twenty!" he exclaimed. "They've never—"

Suddenly there was another pair of pops, with another pair of wizards appearing before Harry. At first, Harry thought it was the two Aurors returning to confirm what he'd told them. Instead, it was two new Aurors. The taller of the two began talking immediately.

"Montnor. Stafford. There's an emergency. The Aurors are gathering. You're to stay here and— Bloody Hell!" The Auror had just noticed Harry standing silently next to him. "What's he doing out here?"

"He just told us what you're about to," said Clarence. "Daleson and Tettle were just here. They Disapparated to check it out, but—"

There was a loud crack and a wizard in a robe dropped to the ground with a loud grunt. It was one of the Aurors who'd left. He was holding his leg. Even in the dim light, Harry could see it was bleeding. He was gasping for breath, and trying to speak at the same time.

"Daleson... 'E's dead..." he said between breaths. "Death Eaters... They got 'im... Hampton too... and a great pile o' Muggles."

One of the new Aurors tossed him something that looked like a small coin and he immediately vanished. The Auror who tossed it to him Disapparated. The remaining Auror looked upset.

"Get him back in that house," he growled. "Shackleton claims he's found someplace safe to keep him. Remus Lupin will pick him up soon, I'd guess." He turned to Clarence. "You watch him. Make sure Lupin gets him. You—" he pointed to Magnus Montnor "—come with me. You'll explain whatever Potter told you."

Without any more explanations Clarence Stafford led him back to the Dursley's and waited outside as Harry quickly repacked everything. Hedwig hadn't returned, so he shrunk her cage and tossed it in his trunk as well. He looked around the room for anything else that should go. He was not saddened at the thought that this might be the last time he saw this room.

Finally he heard a sharp knocking at the front door. He quickly levitated his trunk and tried to ease it through the door and down the hallway. Though he tried to be careful, it banged heavily against the door frame, and once against the wall. As he led it down the stairs, he heard creaking at the head of the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going at this hour?"

It was Uncle Vernon. Harry scowled back at him. "I'm leaving." He guided the trunk down the last set of stairs. Uncle Vernon was already walking down the stairs as quickly as he could. He had seen Harry levitating the trunk.

"How dare you! You'll not use any... abnormality in my house!" he said harshly, trying to be both intimidating and quiet at the same time.

"With any luck, you'll never see me again," Harry said as he draped his robes over his shoulders.

"You're not going anywhere like that! We'll never hear the end of it!" he shouted.

"I _am_ leaving," Harry said dangerously.

"Not while I live!" bellowed his uncle. "If you can't leave in a normal fashion, you'll not leave at all!"

Harry glared back at him, and would have enjoyed this last argument, but he was rudely interrupted by the door shattering to matchsticks.

Harry had turned away, but the blast threw Uncle Vernon backwards onto the steps. When he turned back a group of dark shapes were jumping through the door. Harry immediately had his wand out.

"_Stupefy!_"

One of the men flopped to the floor immediately. Another aimed a wand at Harry and started to shout some spell, but a third shape in Muggle clothes jumped at him, knocking his arm away.

"It's Harry!" he shouted, as he rushed over to Harry.

Harry immediately recognized Remus Lupin. He lowered his wand and sat heavily on his trunk. They were here to escort him. He looked over Lupin's shoulder to see Uncle Vernon running into the living room. His face was white, and he seemed to be blubbering incoherently.

A par of Aurors followed him, and Harry heard one of them shout "_Incarcerous!_". He and Lupin both ran to follow them. On the floor Uncle Vernon lay wrapped in thin, tight ropes from his knees to his shoulders. His voice was muffled by the fact that he was laying on his stomach but Harry could still make out enough to know he wasn't complimenting the Aurors. The Aurors were ignoring him and arguing amongst themselves instead. The two of them had captured the attention of everyone in the room.

"Are ye' bloody daft? Look at 'im!" one shouted.

"Did you hear him? He's a Death Eater or I'll eat my broom!" one yelled back.

"Yer blind if you can't tell a bloomin' Muggle from a Death Eater!"

"So what if he is a Muggle? He could still be one of them!" replied the second Auror.

"One o' them?" the first said dubiously, "A Muggle Death Eater? Have ye' lost your sense?"

"How do we know there aren't any?" the second one asked. The room silenced as people either tried to imagine such a thing, or tried to imagine how the others could.

"If there ever were any Muggle Death Eaters," said Lupin in a deadpan voice, "they've probably tortured and murdered themselves already." Some of the Aurors laughed quietly, others remained completely silent. "This one is loud, but he's harmless."

"He said he was going to stop Potter!" the second Auror said, pointing at Harry. "He was trying to imprison him."

"And Harry would have left anyway," Lupin said. The Aurors seemed to accept this. Harry finally got a chance to look around and counted eight Aurors in the room, plus Lupin and himself. The front door had been annihilated. The Aurors now went about the room closing the drapes and checking the walls. Three of them were looking closely at the fireplace.

"What should we do with the Muggle?" an Auror asked Lupin.

Lupin seemed to think for a moment, then with a scowl he looked down at Uncle Vernon. "Untie him. He's not a Death Eater, and neither are we."

As soon as Vernon was untied, a sound like the howling of some injured beast came from the kitchen. Harry turned to see Petunia, screaming as she ran at the nearest Auror with a broom. She swung the broom viciously at his head, but he ducked. As she recovered and prepared for another swing, Harry heard a voice shouting.

"_Serpenmorphus!_"

Aunt Petunia shrieked and dropped her weapon. But instead of a broom, a large black cobra landed on the ground. It immediately reared its head and began hissing at her.

"_Stop._" Harry hissed at it. The snake froze and turned to look at Harry. "_Guard them._" he hissed. The snake turned and circled around Petunia, herding her toward Uncle Vernon.

The Aurors were staring at him. Even Lupin looked shocked. "Harry, that wasn't the best way of handling that." He looked at his wand, then at the cobra which was obediently keeping Vernon and Petunia where they were. He remembered Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets. He looked like Tom Riddle. He had a similar past. He even had a good deal of his power. It had felt so natural to do it, and it had worked perfectly, yet Harry couldn't help but feel revolted by what he'd done.

"Just— just leave it," Lupin said. "I'll handle it. We need to go. Now."

The Aurors gathered themselves and revived their stunned friend. The group of them piled into three Ministry cars parked on the street. As they left, Harry noticed several of the Dursley's neighbors looking around curiously. One pair was already walking to inspect the destroyed door.

Harry found that he didn't care about all the explaining they would have to do. He was more concerned about his actions, and the fact that the Aurors in his car kept staring at him, keeping their wands in their hands as if they weren't sure if they should defend Harry or attack him.

The car ride to King's Cross was quiet and tense. It was starting to bother him. The sun was finally rising. There were already other cars on the road, but the trip seemed to be going fairly quickly. Lupin had said it should only take an hour.

When they were less than ten miles from the station, Harry finally broke the silence, making the pair of Aurors in the back seat with him jump.

"When will the Express be there?"

Lupin turned to answer, "It should be arriving shortly." A moment of panic struck Harry.

"The Death Eaters are gone?"

"Yes," Lupin answered. "The reports I heard said they were gone before the team of Aurors showed up. And yes, they did search the platforms."

"So all the students are still going to board it?"

"Yes," Lupin said. Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him. Lupin continued. "The Ministry is trying to... fix everything before any of the students arrive." This got a couple of strange looks from the Aurors in the car. "Dumbledore will be there. He'll make sure everything is alright. But for now, the most important thing is getting you onto that platform."

"Why?" asked Harry. "The train doesn't leave for hours?"

"The platform is protected," Lupin responded. "No apparition or Portkeys. It's unplottable. There are loads of barriers and charms, and now, the Aurors are guarding the only entrance."

Harry sat silently for the rest of the journey, and before he was ready, they were walking through King's Cross to a rendezvous location set by Dumbledore. All the Muggles around him seemed edgy and tense. The whole station seemed muffled and eerily quiet despite the normal crowds.

Albus Dumbledore was dressed in a fine black suit, with his long hair tied back and hidden under a business-like hat. He looked respectable without losing his unmistakable eccentricity. When he saw Lupin escorting Harry along with a pair of Aurors dressed as Muggles, he waved and invited them over. He did not have the same jovial nature Harry was used to seeing.

"There has been a... complication, Remus," Dumbledore said gravely. "I'm afraid we have no choice but to take Harry to the Platform, but we must stop all other students for now."

"Can't we sneak them past the Muggles?" Remus said in a low voice.

"We can," Dumbledore said, nodding, "but there is another problem now."

The five of them walked off towards Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Harry wondered what could cause a problem for Albus Dumbledore. As they got closer to Platforms Nine and Ten, Harry began to notice a number of police walking around. He asked if the platforms were closed, and got a quick nod from Dumbledore.

They stopped in a large open area near the platforms. Dumbledore turned to address the trailing Aurors. "I expect we'll be safe from here. However, I'll ask you to make certain no other Hogwarts student passes this point." The Aurors nodded and quickly picked up a pulled out a pair of newspapers to pretend to read. Dumbledore opened Harry's trunk and rummaged through it quickly before closing it again. "Remus, you'll take care of the luggage?" Lupin nodded.

Harry and Dumbledore walked a little farther, until he could see the entrance to the platforms. There were quite a few police around, and they were keeping people away from the entrance. Before Harry could ask, Dumbledore had guided him to a small empty hallway nearby.

"You'll need this," Dumbledore said as he handed Harry his father's Invisibility Cloak. "I know you have sufficient practice using it. You'll need to sneak past everyone to the barrier. I will be following you —invisibly, of course."

"What about my trunk?" Harry asked.

"Remus will deliver your trunk to Hogsmeade. I would guess all the luggage will be delivered that way," he said, as if this was something he'd just figured out.

"Now Harry," he said as he looked into Harry's eyes, "It is very important that you reach the Platform quickly. You must not let yourself be seen or heard —or felt— and above all, do not stop walking. If anything happens, you are to run for the barrier as quickly as you can, understand?"

Harry tried to say something but Dumbledore was already wrapping the cloak around him. Once Harry was hidden, Dumbledore turned and with the smallest swish of a wand, he dissolved into the air. Harry started to worry for a moment, but he soon felt an arm pulling him out toward the platforms.

"Come along, Harry," he whispered, "We should be as quick about this as we can. There is still much to be done."

With that, the two of them made their way past the police and onto the platforms. The entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was still some distance away, but from where he was Harry could see a grouping of white shapes on the ground. With a gentle push from Dumbledore, Harry started walking at a brisk pace, avoiding the groups of policemen.

As he got closer his blood ran cold. The bodies he'd seen had been removed. However, in their place were glowing translucent copies of the bodies laying in wide, silvery pools of ghostly blood. The platform had been dark in his dream. Daylight revealed the true horror of what had happened here. There were so many of them. Harry's legs felt weak. They were everywhere. He forced himself to keep walking.

Why had Voldemort done this? If he'd wanted to stop the Express, why not attack hours later, when the train would be there and loading students? He certainly didn't even know any of the Muggles he killed here, and the two dead Aurors were casualties not targets. As he stepped around the translucent corpses, he wondered what he'd missed in his vision that might have explained what had happened.

He finally reached the barrier. But as he got there, he could force himself no further. Bodies had been dragged and piled up against the barrier, leaving long silvery trails on the ground, but that wasn't the worst part. Harry had frozen. He couldn't go through the barrier. He felt sick. He wanted to turn and run.

"No," Harry said aloud as he stared at the barrier. "It can't be... It's..." His heart pounded in his chest as he surveyed the death around him. There was indeed a purpose to all of it, and Harry understood it now. He struggled to keep control of his stomach, and staggered backwards for a moment.

"You must go through, Harry," Dumbledore whispered behind him. "You'll be safe on the other side."

Harry closed his eyes and walked steadily toward the barrier. His feet stepped through glowing corpses and shining pools. He reached the barrier. He tried to look back at Dumbledore, but as expected, saw nothing.

The surface of the barrier was gouged and burnt as if some scorching tool had burnt away the surface of the stone, and drops of both red and silver had run down the barrier from the cuts. The mark was jagged and vicious, and closely resembled the scar on his own forehead.

He finally closed his eyes and walked through the barrier. When he opened his eyes, he was on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. There were many Aurors standing around, and as soon as he stepped through he heard a high pitched whining.

"Oi! Who's there!" one shouted over the murmuring of the others. "Reveal yourself!" He was pointing a wand in Harry's general direction. Harry immediately pulled off the cloak.

"It's me," he said holding out his arms, "Harry Potter. Dumbledore sent me." Suddenly the platform went silent as all the Aurors stopped to gaze at him. There were looks of amazement, and some looks of pity, but there were also a number of Aurors looking at him with expressions of something close to suspicion.

"He is with me," said a voice next to him. It was Dumbledore. He'd appeared suddenly, and without any alarms. Many of the Aurors turned and went back to their tasks.

There had been a few bodies on this side of the barrier, but they all seemed to have been dragged through the barrier. They must have been wizards, and probably Aurors. The Aurors on the platform were working on removing their phantoms. Many of them were much more faint than the ones on the other side of the barrier.

"Follow me, Harry," Dumbledore ordered as he walked toward the Hogwarts Express which was sitting silently next to the platform. They entered the empty train and walked to one of the large compartments. Harry stopped at the door.

"I think I want to be in the back," he said quietly.

Dumbledore nodded and led Harry to the back of the train, where Harry sat down in one of the last compartments. He avoided the window. He didn't want to see what, if anything, was happening outside. As Dumbledore turned to leave, Harry stopped him.

"Why?" He had already guessed the answer, but he wanted the Headmaster's opinion.

Dumbledore's eyes softened and he gave Harry as sympathetic look. "I believe that Voldemort intended to keep you from going to Hogwarts. Whether that is by closing the school, keeping any students from going, or by scaring you into running away, I do not know. This isn't your fault, Harry, and we must not allow him to succeed."

Dumbledore left, leaving Harry in silence. The compartment felt uncomfortably small to him. It would be some time before anyone else would be boarding, if they found a way for them to board at all. Over the next few hours, Harry tried to encourage himself with the thought of another year at Hogwarts, but he kept remembering his dream.

He wanted to believe Dumbledore. He wanted to think this was all just a scheme to keep him from reaching Hogwarts, but in his heart he knew it wasn't. Harry knew the truth. He could _feel_ it. Voldemort attacked last night so he could show Harry. He'd done something to the bodies so that Harry would have to see them. He was trying to send a message. They had died to punish him.

Harry spent the remaining time trying to stay awake. He didn't want to dream right now. He just wanted to get to Hogwarts. The Aurors had seemed to have mostly disappeared, and only a few remained.

Suddenly he heard noises coming from the head of the train. Someone was coming toward him. Fast. Harry took out his wand and aimed it at the empty doorway. A head of bright red hair poked around the door, and then disappeared.

"He's here!" shouted Ron. "He's back here!"

Ron stepped into the compartment and flopped down in the seat across from Harry. He immediately offered him a Chocolate Frog. Harry took the frog cautiously.

"Hey, Harry," he said, trying to sound cheerful. "I figured you need it more than I do."

Harry smiled and took the frog. He had bit it in half before it was able to get in its first (and only) good jump. It didn't make him any happier, but it did taste good, and he hadn't eaten since the previous evening. As he ate the frog, he heard more people walking on the train. With a flurry of hair Hermione appeared in the doorway.

"Harry, I'm so—"

With a muffled squeak she was bumped from the doorway out of sight. Ginny stood in the doorway, her eyes wide open and staring at Harry.

"You _are_ here!" she shouted jumping in the compartment. Hermione staggered into the compartment behind her, looking a more than a little annoyed. "No one knew where you were, and Dumbledore was too busy to talk to us."

"I boarded a few hours ago," Harry said in a tired, emotionless voice.

Ginny's face softened. "I'm sorry, Harry... You know— You know it wasn't—"

"I know."

Ginny looked at the two open seats. One by her brother, one by Harry. She knew which one she wanted to sit in, but she worried about how it would look. What if Harry wouldn't want to sit next to her? At his birthday it had been different, but so much had changed since then.

Hermione gave her a frown and pushed her aside before sitting next to Ron. He immediately sat up in his seat and tried to give her a friendly smile. Ginny went and sat between Harry and the window. She flashed a smile at Harry and he smiled back and seemed to relax a bit.

Slowly the rest of the train filled up. Ron told Harry about how the Aurors had stunned all of the police on the platform, and then escorted all of the students onto the train. The police would be revived and Obliviated. In a matter of minutes everyone was on board and the train pulled away from the platform.

After about a half hour, the new Head Boy, Nigel O'Brien, walked into the compartment. "There you all are. There'll be a prefects meeting in the first compartment in five minutes." He left without saying anything more.

The three prefects looked at each other. Hermione finally spoke up. "Will you be okay, Harry?"

"I'll be fine, I'm not—"

"I'm staying with him," Ginny said very matter-of-factly.

"I'm not going either," Ron said without looking up from the Quidditch book he'd brought with him. "You can tell us whatever we need to know. I'm not leaving Harry."

Hermione huffed. "But I— Oh very well. I'll go." She stood to leave.

"Wait," Ron said quickly, "We all want to stay. I'll go this time. Just don't bore him with girl talk." Ron handed his book to Harry. "Just in case, mate." he whispered, then walked out of the compartment.

* * *


	17. The First Term

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 17 - The First Term**

* * *

The rest of the train ride went fairly well for Harry. The prefect meeting seemed to last forever, but Hermione and Ginny did not not bore Harry with girl talk, as Ron had feared. Neither did either of them mention anything about the scene at the platform. In fact, they didn't seem to talk about anything at all. The topic of discussion seemed to wander about wildly like a drunken flobberworm. At one point they were talking about what Defense Against the Dark Arts would be like, and only moments later they were discussing Crookshanks and the games he liked to play. 

Harry eventually joined in the conversations, and both of the girls seemed to be quite pleased with that. It would be a long train ride, and he wanted to forget what he'd seen. He was on his way to Hogwarts, a place more like home than where he'd been.

He was reminded of the other reasons he liked Hogwarts some time later. Harry had heard some students in the hallway talking. They'd seemed to be arguing, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. Shortly after they began, they stopped, and were replaced by a light knocking on the door of the compartment.

"Hi Harry," a cheery looking face said as it poked into the compartment, "It's okay if we join you for a bit?" Harry didn't know when Neville had started counting himself as more than one person, but he nodded anyway. In his wake was Luna Lovegood. She seemed to ignore him completely and instead flopped down next to Hermione.

Neville froze. "Hello Ginny," he said as he stared at her. A smile came across his face and he made to sit between Harry and Ginny even though there was barely space for the school robes Harry had folded between them to control the odd feeling in his stomach. The questioning looks he got were enough to stop him, and he instead took a seat on the floor between Ginny and Hermione. Luna smiled at Ginny.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the prefect meeting?" Her voice had the same dreamy, sedate quality he'd remembered. She handed a rolled copy of _Quibbler_ across to Ginny who took it and opened it up just as naturally as if she'd asked for it. Her reply was just as nonchalant.

"Wasn't interested. Ron will let us know if there's anything important happening."

"I wonder what McGonagall will say," Luna replied with a light laugh, "Three Gryffindor prefects skiving off the meeting. Though, given the situation..."

"Three?" Harry asked, "I'm not a Gryffindor prefect."

Luna seemed to ponder this fact, then looked back at him. "I'm not a Gryffindor prefect either, but there are still only three of them at the meeting."

"Katie Bell is watching the corridor with Hannah Abbot," Neville explained.

"She's doing what? What is she watching the corridor for?" Hermione remarked as she stood up and stuck her head through the door for a moment before coming back in to sit down with a perplexed look on her face. She looked over at Neville. "Why are Katie and Hannah standing in the corridor?" Neville shrugged as he looked up.

"Him, of course," he said with a nod toward Harry. "Loads of first and second years want to get a look at him. Ernie stopped us earlier, but then he had to go off to that meeting. Figured I'd have a better chance with Katie."

Harry slumped in his seat. He couldn't even get on a train without turning it turning into a prison. "That was you a moment ago, was it? Arguing with my guards?" His voice was a little more harsh than he'd intended, and Neville seemed offended.

"They're just trying to help," he said apologetically. "I would have helped them, but I thought you'd be here alone. Figured you'd want someone to talk to."

Harry scolded himself for his sour mood. He apologized to Neville, and stepped out to thank Hannah and Katie. He returned quickly, and smiled at Neville who seemed to be eying his seat. Harry didn't know why. The seats had never been that comfortable. The floor couldn't have been much worse, and after a few hours in the the seat, the floor didn't sound so bad.

The prefects meeting eventually ended, and Ron returned and made it past Harry's guards shortly afterward. He walked into the compartment shaking his head. "Bloody hell. You'd think they hadn't seen me leave here." He looked at his former seat, frowning. Hermione and Luna slid apart, and Ron sat rather uncomfortably between them.

"McGonagall's on the train, by the way," he announced. Ginny and Hermione both jerked their heads up to look at him. "Relax. I don't think she cared. Didn't say a word about it." Hermione ignored his advice and looked a little worried.

"Should we be walking the corridors?"

"Don't bother. Let Malfoy do the dull stuff."

As if taking this as a cue, Harry began to hear raised voices in the corridor. It sounded like more than three people were arguing. As the voices got louder everyone in the compartment stopped talking, hoping to hear something of what was being said outside.

Suddenly, Ron shot out of his seat and leapt out the door, closing it behind him. His voice became the loudest of the group.

"Shove off! There's nothing you need to see back here!" A pair of voices seemed to respond, but they were too muffled to hear, despite everyone trying. Hermione gave an exasperated sigh and opened the door slightly so everyone could hear what was being said. A voice Harry didn't recognize came through the crack in the door.

"—nothing to see then why can't we see it?"

"You can't see it because there's NOTHING TO SEE," Ron shouted, "That's what 'nothing to see' means. It's a miracle you made it through your sixth year, or is this your eighth?"

"What's Potter up to, Weasley?" a voice sneered. This one Harry recognized immediately. "What rules is he breaking this time? Couldn't wait to get to the castle, could he? Or is he hoping to get his name on a plaque for Most Detentions Earned Before the Start of Term? Maybe he's just scared and needed you lot to guard the hole he's hiding in. He's not so tough without his Mudblood mother to protect him."

Harry was out of his seat before he realized it. "No, Harry! Don't!" Hermione hissed as she blocked the door. She wouldn't have been able to stop him but as he took a step toward Hermione, Ginny grabbed him from behind.

"Harry, stop," she pleaded as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and tried to pull him back. She had grown a lot in the last year, but not nearly enough to stop him if he'd wanted to get to the corridor. He'd stopped cold, anyway. He could feel her breathing on his neck and it made it very hard for him to swallow. The fight continued outside, but he didn't move an inch.

"Piss off, Malfoy. You don't have your Inquisitorial Squad to help you anymore." Malfoy hissed something inappropriate back at Ron, but Ron didn't respond. Instead, the other boy spoke up.

"Why don't we see what McGonagall says, then? I suppose she'd love to hear about Potter breaking rules before he even steps off the train."

"I'm sure she would, Warrington. Why don't you go fetch her then? I'd love to talk to her." There was a short pause, then he continued, "Right, and take your ferret with you."

A moment later Ron returned to the compartment. Hermione was still guarding the door and Ginny was still holding Harry back, though he didn't seem to be trying very hard at getting away from her. His face was slightly red, and Ron gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry Harry, but it would've been worse if that git would have made it back here." Harry was anything but angry with him. It had been almost two years since Harry and Ron had spent any amount of time angry with each other, and at that moment he felt distinctly proud to have Ron as his friend.

"I thought it was great," Harry said breaking a smile. Luna was also beaming at Ron.

"You were brilliant, Ronald!"

Hermione gave her a sidelong glance as she sat back down next to Ron, who seemed to be pleased with himself now that he was certain no one was angry with him. Neville handed Ginny the copy of _Quibbler_ which she'd tossed aside to stop Harry.

The rest of the ride passed quickly as the six of them relaxed in peace. For a couple hours Harry was able to simply sit with his friends, and talk without any fear of what might happen, or who might interrupt them.

As the train pulled into the station, they all quickly put on their robes and walked out into the corridor. Waiting outside were a number of members of their former club, the D.A. Harry tried to tell them that he'd be okay to walk to the carriages, but they ignored him.

As the students spilled off the train, Harry saw Draco standing by the carriages, scowling. As Harry and his escorts approached, they saw him slowly pull his wand from his pocket and hold it behind his back.

"Why if it isn't the Great Harry Potter and his fan club, already marching about as if they own the place."

Katie Bell laughed at him. "Shove off, Malfoy, or you'll end up in a carriage with Filch and the smelliest second years."

"I haven't forgotten, Potter," he called out. "You won't always have _them_ around to look after you."

"I'm sorry, Draco," Harry replied. "I can't play right now, I'm hungry. Perhaps some other evening." Draco seethed, but said nothing as he turned and strode off toward a carriage.

The large group walked on toward a group of empty carriages. A number of the other students easily broke up into smaller groups. Ron and Hermione walked toward one with Harry following them. Luna seemed to have disappeared as the rest of the students separated. Neville walked off to another carriage and opened the door. After a quick look inside he turned back toward the other carriage.

"There's more room in here, Ginny," he called out. Harry was already climbing into the other carriage and Ginny stopped in her tracks. She was already behind Harry and getting ready to join him. She wondered what she should do. She'd been the one to suggest that she and Harry appear only as friends. Would anyone get suspicious if she turned Neville down? It's just a carriage ride, she decided and grabbed the rail to step into Harry's carriage.

"There's room here, too," she replied. "We'll see you there." She climbed into the carriage to sit next to Harry again.

Harry felt much better as he made the final walk toward the entrance to Hogwarts. His dream and the horrible reality he'd seen that morning seemed as if they were a part of an old life. He was back where he was always meant to be.

When they neared the door, they noticed two wizards flanking the arch, both looking quite stern. One of them looked quite familiar to Harry.

"Clarence? What are you doing here? Where is Magnus?" The Auror frowned slightly as he looked to the other wizard, who was not Magnus Montnor, and then back to Harry.

"You should get inside, Harry. I'm sure Dumbledore will explain everything."

They walked into the Entrance Hall where there were stacks of the students trunks and cases, and cages for all sorts of pets. Past them was the entrance to the Great Hall. The majority of the students had already taken seats, but the Gryffindor table was noticeably less crowded.

Harry scanned the table quickly, trying to avoid eye contact with Colin and Dennis Creevey who were excitedly smiling and pointing at the empty seats next to them. Harry saw a large space nearer the front of the hall. Those seats were often left for prefects and much older students since other students didn't want to be near the first years, but the prefects were obligated to keep an eye on them.

Harry pointed the spot out, and started walking toward it. As he did, he noticed that most of the older Gryffindors were streaming in around him. He felt a little annoyed. As he sat down with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, he saw Neville and Seamus making their way over. Dean was trying to follow them, but was stuck behind a small pack of Ravenclaw girls who seemed to be comparing new robes.

Seeing the pack of Gryffindors who were seemingly following him everywhere was quickly eroding the good mood he'd been in. As the last of the students took their seats, the doors to the hall opened again

"Is this going to happen whenever I go somewhere? I don't need an army of Gryffindors protecting me. I've done just fine—"

"Relax, Harry, they aren't following you," Ginny said. Neville turned to look at Ginny curiously from the other side of Hermione. Her voice had been dismissive and distinctly casual. "When they... When they walked us to the platform, the Gryffindors were some of the first to queue up, and they all headed to the back of the train."

"I heard Malfoy was one of the last to go. Probably wanted to take notes," Ron said as he struggled to make his robes lay straight on his shoulders. "I just wanted to make sure Harry wasn't stuck talking to the boring professors."

"Is that why you pushed Katie back in line so you could be first?" Hermione asked.

"Oh? If you were so calm why were you trying to convince McGonagall to let the prefects on early?" Hermione ignored him, and pretended to be listening to whatever the hat was singing. "Ginny kept trying to tell everyone that you were just fine, but I think she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else. She's been acting a bit off all summer."

Ginny turned to glare at Ron when she heard her name, and caught Harry's eyes as she turned back to listen to the Hat's song. Ron continued in a lower voice. "Nobody knew where you were or what had happened. When we woke up, everyone was gone, and there was a note from Shacklebolt saying that you weren't at Privet Drive and that Mum should take us to King's Cross. Even after we got to the station, everyone said they hadn't any idea where you were."

"No one said they didn't know where he was," Ginny said frustratedly, "They just said they couldn't tell you where he was. And for as much as you are babbling on about it, I'd say it was a good idea." The first of the students were being sorted, and Ginny clapped mechanically as the first Gryffindor took a seat not far from her.

"So what are all these Aurors doing around here then? They don't expect the Death—" Ron paused as he noticed a frightened look from the first year who just sat down "—er— They don't expect something bad to happen, do they?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," Harry said quietly. He remembered Voldemort's threat, and began trying to casually search the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. If Randall York's daughter was a Gryffindor he'd have recognized her. As he searched he realized that the newly sorted first year was staring at him. He groaned silently to himself.

"You're— You're Harry Potter?" he stuttered.

"Nope. I'm Herbert Podwart—"

"Harry, stop that," Ginny scolded. "Harry, this is Stephen Lampwright." Harry reached across to shake Stephen's hand, "Welcome to Hogwarts, I'm Harry Potter. I'm on the Quidditch team and dark wizards attack me for no reason. How about you?" Stephen's eyes bulged as he let go of Harry's hand. Ginny reached out to slap Harry's arm, which made enough noise to draw the attention of many of the students nearby.

"He's really nice, I swear," Ginny explained quietly as Harry rubbed his arm. "He's had a bad day."

Properly chastised, Harry sat quietly through the rest of the sorting. As the last of the first years made her way to the Ravenclaw table, he scanned the table for anyone who resembled the Yorks. It was nearly impossible with everyone clapping and turning to chat with old friends.

"What are you looking at, Harry?" Ron whispered. "If you're looking for Cho, she's—"

"No... It's nothing," Harry answered. Luckily Ron was distracted by something far more interesting than whatever Harry had been looking at.

"I welcome all of you to another year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore called from the head table. "There is much which needs to be said, so let us all eat now, and I shall bore you later when your little minds are more addled by full stomachs. Enjoy!"

With a clap of his hands the tables filled with platters and bowls of food, and the students eagerly began their meal. Harry was much hungrier than he realized. He hadn't eaten since his meager supper the night before. However, after a pair of chicken legs and a cup of pumpkin juice he realized that he was much more tired than he was hungry. A long night in a bed sounded better to him than the treacle tart staring down the table at him.

Ron was eating as much as he always had, and even Hermione seemed more hungry than usual. Ginny, however, was eating even slower than Harry.

"Are you alright, Harry?" she asked. "You must be hungry."

"I'm fine," he replied, already feeling a little drowsy. "I er— didn't sleep well last night." Ginny winced.

"Right. Of course. Sorry about that." Harry waved his hand lazily at her in an attempt to let her know it hadn't bothered him. She smiled and changed the subject. "Do we know who the Quidditch captain is this year?" Ron's face lit up, and he put down his fork.

"Maybe it'll be Harry! You've been on the team as long as Katie!" Harry felt a little shaky. Could that have been what Dumbledore meant? He hoped not. Oliver had always seemed so tense. Harry just wanted to sleep.

"How can I be the captain when I'm off chasing the Snitch? No, Katie'd be a better choice. Or you," he said waving his fork at Ron and making him smile. "Besides, with my luck I'll spend most of the season in the Hospital Wing."

"Oh no, you won't," Ginny said seriously. "I'm done with playing Seeker. I'll tie you to a broom and have you catch the Snitch in your mouth before I do that again." Several nearby students broke out in laughter. Even Hermione was smiling as she chewed on some bread.

"You weren't bad, you _did_ catch the Snitch."

"Well someone has to, don't they?" Ginny argued. She was obviously enjoying herself. "There were only two of us even trying, and he was dreadful. Even if I tried to be Seeker, everyone would just keep saying how I was 'almost as good as Harry Potter'." Harry laughed and reached for some of the treacle tart.

Neville had not been laughing, and was looking at Harry and Ginny with some confusion. When the laughing died down, he finally spoke up.

"Er... Ginny, when did you and Harry get to be such good friends?"

Ginny's fork clattered off her plate, and she only barely saved it from falling to the floor. "Over the summer holidays, I guess," she said uncomfortably. This seemed to confuse Neville even more.

"I thought you had stayed with your Aunt and Uncle, Harry?"

"Well, yeah," he said, unsure of what to say next. "I do have an owl." Dean wasn't far away, and the smile which had been on his face was slowly disappearing. Harry had to speak fast. "It was only a few times, and about Quidditch mostly. I— I was a bit stupid, really. I guess I—er..."

"Harry tried to convince Ginny be the reserve Seeker," Ron said between gulps of pumpkin juice. "Like he said, didn't think he'd make it through the season. A bit daft, if you ask me. And well, you heard Ginny."

With that, the table awoke from the quiet that had surrounded Harry. Everyone was either agreeing with Ron, or arguing about how long it would be until Harry injured himself again. Harry was happy for the change in subject, and Neville and Dean seemed to have mostly forgotten that Harry hadn't really answered their questions.

As Harry lazily continued his meal he wondered if he'd be able to keep the situation between him and Ginny a secret. He wanted to, but he didn't know how many more excuses he'd have to come up with. How was he supposed to talk to her if everyone was going to ask questions about it? He looked across the table at Ginny, and she smiled at him. Things never seemed so bad when she was smiling at him, and he found a little of his appetite returning to him.

The feast continued on for some time, and Harry spent most of the time listening to others talking and only occasionally joining in. It didn't seem long until most of the students had pushed their plates away and were sitting with contented smiles on their faces and were simply talking with friends they hadn't seen in two months. As expected, Dumbledore stood and began to speak.

"Very well. There are a few announcements. Argus Filch has, as always, posted on his door a list of items which are not to be used by students. New additions to this year's list include Sticky Snares, Firey Fizzbangs, and a large number of completely new items. For students wishing to save themselves a trip to his door, the additions bear a striking resemblance to the stock list at 'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes'."

Harry thought that a little unfair, as they did sell some truly useful items. Ron and Ginny, however, were quite pleased. "Fred and George would be so proud," Ron said with a smile. "Filch's never done that with Zonko's, and everyone's sure to check the store out now."

"I also regret to announce that your Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was not able to be with us tonight." There was a general murmuring from the students.

Seamus leaned toward Harry. "You suppose he's already been attacked by something nasty?"

Dumbledore silenced the quickly spreading rumors, however. "Kingsley Shacklebolt had some urgent business to attend to, but he will be with us early tomorrow morning. Along with a number of the Aurors, he will be teaching you how to defend yourselves in these dangerous times."

"As for the Aurors themselves, I'm sure you've all noticed that a number of them are stationed around the castle. _Please_ show them your respect and courtesy. They are here for your safety, but I fear they are not used to environments as dangerous as Hogwarts."

"Also, as you were all notified, the International Confederation of Wizards will be gathering here in February. We have tried to plan some events which will be entertaining to everyone. There will be a Ball for students in their fourth year or higher, a pair of Quidditch matches, and a demonstration of sorts, which should be both entertaining and educational."

"Finally, there is a matter which needs attending to regarding some developments last year. Two new... groups were formed last year under the influence of Professor Umbridge, who, alas, decided not to return. Both of these groups were unauthorized by either Hogwarts or Ministry of Magic Rules."

"The so-called 'Inquisitorial Squad' has been disbanded. However, as it was organized by a Hogwarts Professor—" Hermione made a choking sound "—the members will not be punished." Malfoy, who had looked paler than usual before, now had a familiar smug look on his face.

"The second group, which I believe was called 'The Defense Association', was organized and joined by students in direction violation of both Ministry rules and the orders of Hogwarts Professors. After much discussion, we have decided not to punish the members of this group."

Neville practically collapsed on the table in relief. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all shared confused and worried glances.

"While the group went through some effort to keep its membership secret, many of the members are known to be in this hall. It was decided that the responsibility for the violation lay in those who organized the group, and not those who joined simply out of academic curiosity. It is, however, unknown which students were involved. If the organizers are not discovered, all members will need to be punished."

Hermione's mouth dropped open, and she leaned toward Harry and Ron. "That's not fair! Educational Decree Twenty-Four isn't in effect anymore!" she hissed.

Dumbledore was conspicuously looking away from the Gryffindor table. "I trust those responsible will identify themselves by joining me in my office tonight immediately after the feast is dismissed."

Harry sat back with a dumbfounded look on his face. Hermione's face was red with anger. Ron's was more pale with fear. Ginny was simply glaring at Dumbledore. Around the hall, various members sought out other members, but most ended up looking toward Harry.

"How could he?" Hermione said through clenched teeth. "He _must_ know who it was."

"Even if he didn't, it's pretty clear now," Katie said from nearby. "Everyone is looking at you three."

"Let me go," Harry said. "Dumbledore won't expel me. He can't."

"You've been in enough trouble, Harry," Hermione said as she stood up with the rest of the students as they made their way out. "This wasn't even your idea. I was the one who convinced you."

"I helped," Ron said sullenly.

Ginny had already left. She was helping to guide the first years to Gryffindor Tower. Ron, Hermione, and Harry all walked out of the Great Hall along with the rest of the students, many of them giving the trio sidelong glances. Some of the looks were sympathetic or apologetic. Malfoy, however, looked positively cheerful.

When it came time to choose between going up to Gryffindor Tower or to Dumbledore's office, all three of them turned to walk to the Headmaster's Office. Each of them tried to convince the other two to go back, but it became obvious that it wouldn't happen. With solemn nods, they all turned and walked off.

"This'll be a Howler for me, for sure," Ron said in a low voice. "Even if he gives us a month of detention."

"We don't even know if he was serious about punishing us," Hermione whispered as they got closer. "Maybe the Ministry is making him do it, and we'll just get points taken away." However, she didn't sound very convinced that this was the truth.

As they approached the gargoyle that guarded the entrance, they heard talking. In the doorway were two students. One of them was Ernie MacMillan, a Hufflepuff prefect, and the other was Katie Bell. Her eyes popped open as she saw them and started mouthing something at them.

"What're they doing here? And what's she saying?" Ron whispered.

"Good evening, Harry, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said as his head poked out into the hall, "And Mr Weasley, as well." Katie scowled at them as they walked toward the small doorway. Dumbledore stepped past her into the hall to guide them past the gargoyle.

"Shall we wait for Miss Weasley or Mr. Longbottom?" he asked lightly. Ron stared back bravely.

"Ginny and Neville had nothing to do with this. Hermione and I organized it." Dumbledore merely smiled and nodded.

"Of course, Mr Weasley. I'll just leave the door open for them, then. Come along, it is getting late."

Ron tried to protest, but Dumbledore was already on the rising staircase leading to his office. Katie and Ernie were stepping on the stairs, but Harry was shocked to see that Cho Chang was right behind Dumbledore, and looking almost as disgruntled at Katie. Harry was the last to step onto the stairs.

On the way up, Katie kept glowering at Ron, who was right behind her. Ron got increasingly annoyed by this, until he finally had enough.

"What?" he hissed at her, but got no response. "Well? What were you trying to tell us before?"

Katie gave him a condescending look. "I was saying _Go Away_. Now we're all in trouble," she hissed.

"Well you should have told us!" Ron said back. Katie rolled her eyes.

They reached the top of the stairs and walked into Dumbledore's office. To Harry it was all too familiar. The rest of the students seemed a bit awestruck despite their fear of punishment.

"Sit down, please," Dumbledore said as eight chairs appeared around the room. Harry and the others each silently found a seat but Katie stepped forward immediately.

"It wasn't them, sir. Cho and I convinced Harry and Hermione to help us." Cho stood up and nodded her head sincerely. Ernie also walked up and purposefully put himself between Harry and Dumbledore, "—And I recruited most of the other members."

Harry just sat silently, staring at the three of them. They were still protecting him. His eyes met Dumbledore's, but he realized that he didn't look angry, or even concerned. Something strange was happening. Dumbledore had tricked them into coming up here. But why?

"Very well, Miss Bell, Miss Chang, and Mr. MacMillan. I trust that you will not dispute your punishments for such deliberate disobedience?" The three of them nodded, but Dumbledore said nothing more. Instead he seemed to stare off for a moment, then he relaxed silently.

Cho took a step back. Her eyes met with Harry's. There was a trace of embarrassment there, but mostly he saw a matching confusion. Their silent questions were answered a moment later when the sound of sharp quick footstep came echoing up the staircase. Someone else was coming.

Ginny had barely entered the room before she started talking as quickly as she could. "Headmaster, it wasn't his idea, I was—" With a crash she fell over an empty chair and was sent sprawling across the floor. She collected herself quickly and bounced back up on her feet. She stepped in front of the smirking headmaster and continued.

"It wasn't him. I was the one who convinced everyone else to come." She was gasping for breath, partly from the spectacular fall, and partly from the run from Gryffindor Tower. Dumbledore simply smiled.

"It wasn't who, Miss Weasley?"

"It wasn't H—" she started, but stopped suddenly. Ron covered his face with his hands. "It—er— It doesn't matter," she said lamely. "It was me."

"I'm certain you're right, Miss Weasley. And for that, I'm afraid you'll have to receive the same punishment. You have created an unsanctioned organization at Hogwarts, and as a result, you will have the privilege of being a part of all such organizations taken from you. However, since you all admitted your guilt, it shall only apply to Quidditch during this term."

Ginny stumbled back and sat down heavily, a hollow look in her eyes. Ernie seemed to accept it a little better. He gave Harry a nod and a small smile. Katie and Cho were taking it the hardest, Harry thought. They were looking at each other, the hollow defeat evident in their eyes. They'd had their last year of Quidditch taken from them to protect him. Harry couldn't stand it.

"It wasn't them, sir!" he shouted as he stood up. Katie and Cho both turned, frightened looks on their faces, "No! Don't!" they were both silently screaming, but Harry had been protected enough this day.

"Ron and Hermione suggested it, but it was my decision. I was the leader. I set up the first meetings." Dumbledore smiled and nodded. He looked to Ron and Hermione.

"Is this true?" he asked calmly. Ron was shaking his head violently, but Hermione was apologetically nodding. Dumbledore looked down to his desk and sighed. Katie collapsed onto a chair shaking her head in despair and muttering, "Best Seeker in ages but he can't keep his mouth shut."

"Very well, I'm afraid the same punishment will apply to you three as well. You are all banned from all Quidditch practices, matches, and related activities for a period of four months."

Ron's mouth dropped open. Hermione looked outraged. "To all of us?" she almost shouted. "But they didn't have anything to do with it!"

"In this case, admitting wrongdoing when you have not done anything wrong is no different than being the one who truly did break the rules. I'm afraid the punishment must stand."

Harry sat back down. Four months. Gryffindor wouldn't have him, Katie, Ron or Ginny. They'd be crushed by Slytherin. Katie and Cho were both frozen in shock, with almost hysterical gleams in their eyes. Ernie looked like he was going to be sick. Hermione tried to protest, though it wasn't what Harry expected.

"Sir? But—but I'm not on—"

"Would you prefer a harsher punishment Miss Granger?"

Hermione's mouth moved, but no sound came out. Finally, she squeaked out, "No." She looked back at Dumbledore suspiciously, but then turned and looked at the door, to see Neville Longbottom breathing heavily as he climbed the last steps.

"She... she wasn't part... part of it. It was—was me..." he panted. Dumbledore smiled and nodded as one of the chairs stiffly walked itself over to him.

"I thank you for that confession, Mr. Longbottom. You'll not be playing Quidditch for four months."

"'Kay," Neville said weakly as he fell into the chair.

"Now that you're all here, let us discuss the reason why you are here."

"Why?" asked Harry rebelliously, "How about we just invite Malfoy up here now so that he can get a early start on his gloating." Dumbledore laughed softly which only annoyed Harry more.

"I'm sure Mr. Malfoy would not be at all pleased were he here, and it is getting late, so let us get on with this. Now that you have been properly punished, I need some decisions made. There are eight spots, but I'm afraid we're still short four people."

"What spots?" Harry asked. "What are you talking about?" Dumbledore simply ignored him and started talking to himself.

"Miss Bell, let's see. No, I think you'll be busy enough that I should choose someone else. Miss Chang should be able to balance all of it, though. Miss Lovegood can join her. Of course Miss Granger is the obvious choice, but who to go with her?"

"I'm the obvious choice for what?" Hermione asked.

Dumbledore looked up with a twinkle in his eye. "For the Defense Association Council, of course. And I believe Miss Weasley will join you." Harry stood up and walked to Dumbledore's desk.

"But... I thought the D.A. wasn't going to be allowed?"

"_That_ group won't be allowed. We do not have secret societies at Hogwarts. The new Defense Association will be run by a fair council of students, and led by you, of course. Mr. MacMillan will be on it, but I don't know who shall join him." Ernie perked up at hearing this.

"Hannah Abbot," he said nodding, "She wanted to come, but we thought it would look absurd to have so many. We flipped a Knut for it. I won."

"Very well," Dumbledore agreed, "There is still the issue of the Slytherins—"

"We have to let them join?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley, I'm afraid so. This is to be fair. However, this is not a club for anyone who fancies some evening entertainment. You will have to trust your friends to select members who are trustworthy enough to join."

"I am not rewarding you for your disobedience," Dumbledore continued, as he scrawled across a piece of parchment. "You are to aid the Aurors in the defense of the school. There will be duty and responsibility for all members. And danger. However, after the scores returned from the O.W.L and N.E.W.T examinations, I am confident you will be prepared."

"I suggest you all return to your common rooms. You'll need your sleep. I'm sure you'll find a way to inform any former members that there will be a meeting in the normal location tomorrow night, but you must not let anyone else know that the Defense Association isn't disbanded. And until that meeting, you are not to tell _anyone_ else what has been said here. Off you go."

The students filed out of the Headmaster's office, quite unsure of what to think. As they made their way back to their common rooms they tried to work out just what had happened. Harry was happy and nervous that the D.A. would still exist, but he didn't know if it was worth missing the first two Quidditch matches. Ron had been thinking the same thing.

"How're we supposed to fill four Quidditch positions for the Slytherin match?" he moaned.

"You don't have to," Cho said quietly. Ron froze.

"What does that mean? Are we supposed to just give up?"

"No," Katie said with a smile, "I don't know why he didn't announce it. McGonagall told me before the Sorting Ceremony. We're playing a short season this year. The first two games will be during the I.C.W. assembly. The last four will be played in March and April. There will be extra Aurors here during that time, but they couldn't be here all year."

A smile crept across Ron's face. "We won't miss a single match. Brilliant!"

"Exactly," Cho said with a yawn. "We should get back. It might take some work to track down Luna."

It had been a long day for Harry, and as he went off to sleep, he managed to forget about the ghostly corpses at King's Cross and had the long, dreamless, and heavy sleep that he'd needed.

* * *

Author's Notes:

So Harry's back at Hogwarts finally, and everything is as it's supposed to be (right?) Well, if you take a look at the chapter number (17) and realize there are 49 chapters in the story, you'll understand that Harry's ride is really just started.

I've been very happy with the response up to this point, but let's see how everyone likes where the story is headed. The previous 16 chapters were more than just a fun diversion. There were some important things happening in them, and you may eventually figure out just why some of those strange things happened.

Now. if you're interested in getting more explanations or asking for any clarifications or explanations, you can join the Yahoo group where I also post the chapters (and will eventually post a PDF of the whole story) as well as answer various questions people ask me in reviews. The URL is:

http/groups. than that, thanks for reading. Review if you like, ask questions if you have them, but do try and enjoy yourselves. I'm adding another 14 chapters today, but be prepared to be disappointed at the end. I've cut off the upload before something I hope everyone will enjoy: a rare chapter filled with action, followed by a somewhat baffling conversation (at least, that's how I remember it. Maybe it'll be better when I edit it).


	18. Unofficial Meetings

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 18 - Unofficial Meetings**

* * *

The next morning he awoke with the momentary cheer of finding himself in his familiar bed in Gryffindor Tower. It felt much more like home that Number Four Privet Drive, or even Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Harry looked out of the window, enjoying the view of the grounds. For a moment, he was content and happy. 

That moment passed, however, as he noticed something different about the grounds. A number of small figures standing or walking about in cloaks. There weren't many of them, but after years of training his eyes to find the glint of the Snitch in the afternoon sun, the cloaked Aurors were easy to spot. At first they seemed to move about randomly, but it took only a minute for Harry to realize what was going on. They were systematically searching the grounds.

This brought the realization of his current situation back to the front of his mind. They were searching for dark wizards. They were searching for people who were coming after him. He had classes to go to today, just like any other day, but at the end of the day, he had a meeting with the Headmaster to set up a club that would be helping the Aurors. There was a war starting, and tonight, he and his friends would be joining the fight.

The thought sobered him, and he finally turned from the window to go and clean up. Ron was already up and mostly dressed, and after a few minutes, so was Harry. They joined Dean, Seamus and Hermione in the common room, and together, they all walked down to the Great Hall. Dean kept giving Harry and Hermione worried looks. When they got back to Gryffindor tower, they kept their word to Dumbledore and said nothing. This seemed to worry the various ex-members of the D.A. more than actually knowing what might have been said.

When the group of them reached the Great Hall, they saw more of the same. Luna and Cho were sitting together for the first time in Harry's memory. Ernie and Hannah were sitting together as well, surrounded by a number of Hufflepuffs from the D.A. They all seemed more somber than normal, and many of them gave Harry quick glances as he walked to a table.

The whole hall seemed slightly more tense than normal. The D.A. was fairly small, but there were enough members that many of the younger students were keeping quiet out of some sympathetic respect for their prefects and friends.

The only jubilant faces in the room were found at the Slytherin table, where a number of Inquisitorial Squad members were clustered around a smirking Draco Malfoy.

Neville and Ginny were sitting at the head of the Gryffindor table, and had kept a large spot open for the rest of them. Seamus took a seat next to Neville, and Dean sat across from him, next to Ginny, leaving plenty of room for Harry, Ron and Hermione. Ginny frowned slightly at Dean and Seamus. It seemed as if she'd wanted to be able to talk about what was going to happen that night.

They all were fairly quiet as they ate breakfast, making a show of light conversation while they exchanged significant looks between themselves.

"How long is this going to last then?" Seamus finally asked. Hermione repeated the same thing she'd said last night: They had promised they wouldn't talk about it.

"We promised we wouldn't talk to _anyone else_ about it," Ron corrected with a look toward Dean and Seamus.

"Well you should be happy that we're here, then," Dean responded in a harsh whisper. "If we weren't you'd have every student in the room trying to hear what you were saying. How long do you think it would take? Just take a look around right now."

Harry took a quick look around the room and saw at least twenty people who were watching the group of them. Dean was right. It wouldn't have been a secret for long. As his eyes scanned the crowd, Harry caught Hannah walking briskly toward the Gryffindor table. Hermione saw her as well.

"What does she think she's doing?" Hermione whispered as Hannah approached them.

"Hello," Hannah said cautiously as she saw the glare Hermione was giving her. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping one of you would have some spare money to lend Susan. She's expecting a message from a friend today, but it's going to cost her a Galleon."

"A Galleon!" Ron shouted, then shouted again, in pain this time, and scowled at Hermione. "What was that for? A Galleon is outrageous! Is the message written in dragon's blood on gold parchment?"

"She'll pay you back tonight, I promise."

"Then why not wait until then to send it back?"

With a heavy sigh, Hermione reached into one of her pockets and drew out a single Galleon, and handed it to Hannah. "Tell Susan she can keep it."

"You're mental," Ron said as Hannah walked away just as purposefully as she had walked up. "At least let Harry do it. He's got plenty."

"Er... come to think of it," Dean stammered from beside Ginny, "I was going to buy my mum a gift, but I, er— I dropped it out the window last night. I don't suppose—" Dean stopped talking when he saw Ginny sliding something shiny toward him on the table. He pocketed it quickly. "Thanks."

Ron glared at Ginny, and she glared back. He looked at Hermione and finally Harry. His eyes opened suddenly and he nodded his head. "Right.

Seamus looked warily at the others. "What's going on? Do I get a Galleon, too?"

Hermione looked at Ron and Harry. Harry didn't have his Galleon on him, but he was pretty certain he could find it. Ron shook his head, too. "I guess not," she told Seamus, "but maybe Dean will have something for you tonight."

Seamus looked even more suspicious, but he didn't ask any more questions. Eventually, McGonagall dropped off the students' schedules. Harry groaned at his. His first class would be Advanced Potions with Snape. Hermione would be with him, but not Ron. He gave Harry a sympathetic look.

Harry wondered if Snape even knew that Harry would be attending the class. In his mind, he weighed the possibilities. If he knew, then he might have been stewing over it for weeks. If he didn't, there was a good chance that he'd get detention for merely setting foot in the room.

Neither sounded encouraging to Harry, and Hermione had sensed his reluctance to go to class. When the time came, she half dragged him back to Gryffindor Tower to fetch his books and supplies, and then led him to the Potion's classroom.

* * *

It was obvious that Severus Snape had not known that Harry was in the class. However, Snape did not start shouting at him immediately. Instead, he simply stood completely still, staring directly at Harry as he took a seat next to Hermione. After some time, he seemed to finally regain his voice. 

"I'm afraid you have the wrong class, Potter."

"Er... You can look at my schedule, if you like," Harry offered, hoping that it wouldn't break whatever spell was keeping Snape from shouting at him.

"Why would I want to do that?" Snape replied coldly. He held up a piece of parchment. "I have a list of students in this class. Anyone _not_ on the list does not _belong_ here. Your name is _not_ on the list." Snape strode forward to the table Harry and Hermione were sitting at. "Now, you can either leave now, or serve detention after I remove you. On your way back to Gryffindor Tower, perhaps you should complain to Professor McGonagall for giving you an incorrect schedule."

Harry didn't know what to do. He looked to Hermione for advice, but she seemed as confused as he was. He'd gotten an O in Potions. He was supposed to be here. Dumbledore had given him the text at the start of the holidays. "Are you sure my name isn't there?" Harry asked.

"I assure you, I would have noticed if your name were on this list. If it were, I would not be able to take ten points from Gryffindor for your disobedience. As it still is not, I will ask you to leave before I take an additional fifty."

Reluctantly, Harry stood and started gathering his things. He leaned over to pick up his bag, and when he rose he had to immediately duck to avoid a large barn owl which seemed to be flying directly at his head. The owl dropped a roll of parchment, circled the room, and flew off.

Harry looked down at the roll sitting on the table in front of him. What now, he asked himself as he picked it up and opened it. Snape waited impatiently while Harry read it. When Harry realized what it was, he felt both triumphant and terribly worried.

"Well, Potter?" Snape prompted him. "What does it say?"

"It's a class list," Harry answered.

"I already have the class list," Snape shot back.

"Well, I'm on this one."

"And that is still meaningless. _This_ list—" he said, brandishing the parchment in his hand "—is from the Headmaster."

"So is this one," Harry countered, "but it's also signed by Professor McGonagall and Professor Marchbanks." Harry slowly handed the parchment to Professor Snape, who snatched it violently from his hand.

As he read the list, Snape's lip curled and the muscles in his jaw clenched and twitched. He stuffed the parchment into his pocket and scowled at Harry. "That will be another ten points from Gryffindor for opening post not meant for you. Now sit down and open your book to the first chapter."

Snape's mood had hardly improved by the end of the class, and he had assigned them a surprisingly long essay on the purpose of studying advanced potion-making in modern wizarding society. When they left the room, Hermione seemed to be the only person not scowling at him.

Hermione tried to convince him that it was only bad because it was the first day, and that no matter what happened, Snape was going to be in a foul mood having Harry there. While Harry agreed that his presence was certainly the cause for Snape's current mood, he wasn't so certain that the next class would be any better, or that the Snape would ever be in anything but a foul mood with him there.

Harry was unable to shake the memories of the Advanced Potions class from his head, and before he realized it, he'd finished both Charms and Care of Magical Creatures. Both had been rather uneventful compared to his first class, which didn't really say much.

Instead of introducing any creatures which might later turn on the students, Hagrid had spent the time explaining about the care of the gloves, boots and other equipment they would be using. For the first time he could remember, he'd felt bored in Hagrid's class.

As he walked back to the castle with Ron, Hermione, and Neville, they saw Ginny and Colin waiting for them near the front door. They were trying to make it seem as if it were completely natural for them to be there, but they both looked uncomfortable, and they both were avoiding any eye contact with everyone else in the area, including Harry and the others.

When they got closer, Ginny said something to Colin, and with a nod, he turned and walked through the door. Ginny turned to stare into Harry's eyes. Even if she would have said something, they wouldn't have been close enough to hear her. Before they could get much closer, she scuffed her shoe on the ground, picked up her bag, and turned to walk into the castle behind a group of students.

"Er... Did that mean anything to anyone?" Hermione whispered as they continued to walk toward the spot Ginny and Colin had been standing. No one answered, but they kept walking. When they got to the spot, they all stopped and looked at each other.

"Is there something we were supposed to see?" Ron asked.

"There must be," Hermione said as she looked around lazily.

"She just sort of stared at us, then kicked at the ground and left. What could that mean?" Ron continued. "Maybe she was just upset at you two for making Snape so angry. I think she had him after you."

"I'm sure she was fine, Ron. And she didn't look at us, she looked at _Harry_, and then she moved something on the ground. We should— Don't all look at once!" she scolded them.

It didn't matter. No one had seemed to even notice they were there, and in the brief glimpse Harry had of the ground, he'd realized what Ginny had done. In the dust covering the stones in the corner, she'd drawn a single wavy line with her foot.

Harry walked over it, scuffing it with his own feet. Hermione gave him an annoyed look, until she realized that he was leading them inside. Without saying anything, they followed him.

Harry walked purposefully ahead of the rest of them. After a few turns, they were walking down a deserted hallway. Neville walked up next to Harry.

"Where are we going?" he whispered.

Without pausing, Harry replied, "Somewhere private. Ginny wants to talk."

"How do you know that?" Neville asked in a slightly louder voice as he fell behind.

Harry paused briefly to answer him. "I'll tell you when we get there. It's not far."

Neville didn't ask any more questions, and fell in place behind Ron and Hermione. A few more turns and they suddenly came upon Colin, alone in the middle of the hallway, kneeling over a pile of books, parchment, and quills. He gasped in surprise when he saw them, but relaxed immediately.

"Hullo Harry," he whispered. "It's all clear."

"Thanks, Colin."

Ron gave Harry an odd look, but kept his mouth shut and followed him through a door he'd been hoping he could avoid. Neville was next, and finally Hermione.

As soon as Harry got in the room, he turned toward a sink that used to lead to the Chamber of Secrets. Leaning against it was Ginny.

"They removed it," she said clearly. "Probably took out the passage as well, but I figured you'd remember."

"Wish I couldn't," Harry responded. He'd recognized the rough shape of the snake which used to mark the sink Ginny was leaning against as the entrance to the Chamber. "What do you need?"

"We need to send out the message that there is a meeting tonight. We can't wait until an hour before the meeting like we wanted." Ginny answered immediately. Harry realized there was always a chance that someone would walk by, and that they should speak as quickly as they could. "Dean wasn't the only one who tried to ditch his Galleon when he heard that the D.A. was being broken up. Too many people won't get the message in time."

"How are we supposed to tell them all?" Harry asked. "We can't just walk around telling everyone at dinner, and it'll never stay a secret if we have to spread it person to person."

"We won't have to," Ginny replied, "Luna talked to me during Care of Magical Creatures. Most of the Hufflepuffs know something is up, and Luna and Cho are trying to let everyone know to expect something. We think that everyone either has one of the Galleons, or will be near someone who does."

"We should still do it now," Hermione added. "It'll only make it harder for everyone if we wait until after dinner."

"Alright then," Harry said as he fished his Galleon out of his pocket. He pulled his wand from another and pointed it at the Galleon in his hand. "What time should we meet?"

"It might take a while, so how about eight o'clock?" Hermione answered.

"Very well." With a wave of his wand, Harry spoke clearly: "Eight o'clock tonight!" The Galleon glowed briefly, and faded. Harry shrugged and put it back in his pocket.

"It worked," Ron chimed in a moment later as he pulled his out of his pocket. "Can we leave and go eat like everyone else, now?"

"Let's see how many of them got the signal," Harry said as he followed Ron and Ginny out the door. Colin was still there, waiting for them, having made little progress in picking up the mess he'd made. However, with a quick wave of his wand, everything on the floor packed itself into his bag (though quite messily) and he joined them as they walked toward Gryffindor Tower.

As they ate dinner, Harry took whatever opportunity he had to try and find the various members of the D.A. Occasionally, he'd get private nods from them, acknowledging that they'd gotten the signal. Other times, he'd get confused looks, as someone suddenly realized that something was happening and that they'd missed it. When the meal was finished, Harry watched as the students filed out of the Great Hall. Most of the D.A. members left in groups with other members, giving him some hope that everyone would get the message.

Now all he had to do was to show up. He still wasn't sure exactly what Dumbledore had planned. He was hoping that he hadn't forced everyone else into something they hadn't wanted to be a part of. It was possible that many of the members would show up just to learn what had happened with Harry, Ron and Hermione, and figure out what they could do to help with whatever punishment they'd gotten. What if they wanted no part of Dumbledore's new D.A.?

When the time came to leave for the meeting, Harry still hadn't found a suitable answer to any of his questions. He'd decided that he'd just have to trust Dumbledore. However, there was such a thing as too much trust, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have an Invisibility Cloak with him just in case.

It would take some time to walk to the room, but Harry wanted to leave early just so he could be certain that everything was going to be alright. When he went for the portrait hole, however, he found Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville waiting for him.

"You lot stay here," he whispered. "I'm just going to make sure there aren't any problems."

"Well, you're not leaving if you plan on going alone," Ginny whispered back as she stood between him and the door. Harry tried arguing with her, but Ron and Hermione felt the same way.

"Fine," he said, finally giving up. "Hermione and Ginny can come with me, but Ron and Neville stay here."

"Why do I have to stay here?" Ron replied in a voice that was the loudest whisper Harry could remember hearing. "I'm a prefect, and I'm older than Ginny." Ginny's eyes flared, but Hermione stepped between them and explained the situation to Ron in a soothing voice.

"We're on the Council —whatever that is— and we need someone to make sure everyone doesn't just leave all at once," she said. "When it gets closer to eight o'clock, start letting people leave —only in pairs, and with some time between them. The younger students will know something is happening, but it will be too late by time they start guessing."

Ron was disgruntled, but he seemed pleased that he at least had some job to do. Neville looked mostly disappointed. It was a little surprising to Harry how much Neville seemed to want to help out. He still remembered Neville as the boy who stood up to him, trying to keep him from breaking any more rules his first year at Hogwarts.

As he walked with Hermione and Ginny toward the Room of Requirements, he tried to think of when Neville had changed so much. Certainly he'd been much more outgoing last year, but it had been a surprise to Harry then, so it must have started before then. Of course, he was pre-occupied with the Triwizard Tournament, the year before that. Perhaps that was when it started.

When they were almost there, Harry stopped and pulled the Marauders' Map from one of his pockets. He checked the corridor for anyone who might see or hear them, and seeing no one, tapped it with his wand.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Lines and dots and labels stretched across the parchment, and he took a moment to locate the dot labeled "Ron Weasley" in Gryffindor Tower. He and Neville were next to Dean and Seamus. Colin and Denis Creevey were standing next to the doorway, eager to leave and find Harry, no doubt. Next he searched for his own dot, and the location of the Room of Requirement. The whole corridor was empty, and there was no sign of any students or professors in the area. Filch seemed to be in the Library talking to a pair of Aurors.

"It's all clear," Harry said to Hermione and Ginny. Together they walked off. They only had to turn at the end of this hallway, and walk a short distance down the next to reach the door to the Room. Harry kept an eye on the map, in case someone might suddenly turn to walk toward their destination. It was only a short way now. They turned the corner and stopped short. Before them stood Albus Dumbledore, smiling lightly.

"A bit early, aren't you Harry?" Dumbledore commented as he turned and walked toward the space in the hallway where the door should be. Harry stood where he was as if his feet had been stuck to the floor. He tared down at the map which had the same three dots he'd been watching before, but also a new dot, labeled "Albus Dumbledore" moving slowly away from them.

"Next time, I'll take the map," Ginny said with a little annoyance. "I'd rather not run into anyone else because you can't read a map you've had for years."

"I can read it," Harry shot back. "I swear the hallway was empty a moment ago, and now it's not."

"A wonderful creation, that map of yours," Albus said as he stopped just past the spot where the door would be. He turned and walked back toward Harry. "James and Sirius always were always quite good at Charms and Transfiguration. Better than many of us even knew, I should say." He stopped again, looking as if he were trying to solve some riddle.

"But not good enough to make it see where you are?" Harry offered, wondering just how Dumbledore had even known what time they had set the meeting for.

"Oh, they were quite good enough for that," Dumbledore said with a nod. He turned and walked back away from them. "I cannot think of a wizard who I would wager could actually trick that map of yours." He stopped after only a few steps and turned to back to stare at Harry. "And that should be some comfort to you."

Harry understood immediately. Wormtail certainly would have told Voldemort that Harry had the Map. Perhaps that was why Voldemort had tried so hard to keep Harry from coming back. "But I still didn't see you," Harry countered.

"As I said, that map is a wonderful creation, but one cannot look at the map, and the world at the same time, and there are many ways of being someplace without being anywhere." Dumbledore walked back toward them again. "It is a excellent tool, but it is not a substitute for caution, vigilance, and intuition." Harry nodded, a bit confused at the impromptu lesson.

"Ahh!" Dumbledore called out as he turned. "Just what I needed."

Harry looked at the wall, and recognized the door, just where it always showed up. Dumbledore opened the door and ushered the three of them inside. The room was fairly empty, but contained a number of tables surrounded by simple but comfortably cushioned chairs.

"We should have some other guests shortly," Dumbledore said as Harry took a seat at a nearby table. "I assume that you were able to contact the other members?"

Harry nodded. "The Gryffindors will be coming gradually. It would have looked odd to have them all walking through the halls together. I assume that the others will have thought of the same thing."

So they waited. He hadn't expected Dumbledore to even show up, though he knew that it had been foolish of him to think he could keep the meeting a secret from him. Still, all three of the students jumped as they heard the door swing open.

They had expected to see Cho or Ernie, but instead watched as four Aurors walked into the room and sat at one of the far tables. Despite Harry's opinion of the chairs, the Aurors seemed uncomfortable. After sitting for less than a minute, they stood up and went to stand closer to the door and farther away from the three Gryffindors. Harry only recognized one of them, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who stood facing Harry. They seemed to be arguing about something, but Harry could only pick up bits and pieces of words.

So far as he could tell, they seemed to be talking to Kingsley about whatever had kept Filch in the Library. He caught Filch's name, and the words "dark magic". While Harry couldn't say that he truly enjoyed Filch's company, he could say without a doubt that Argus Filch was not a Death Eater, and wouldn't be performing any dark magic. Surely the Aurors would have known that he was a Squib, wouldn't they?

The Aurors stopped talking suddenly and turned as one to stare at the door. Slowly it opened and Cho poked her head through. She saw Harry and walked in. As she closed the door, she saw the Aurors and froze. Her eyes shot over to Harry, Hermione and Ginny. Hermione waved her over and explained to her what had happened when they showed up.

"So what are they here for?" Cho asked quietly.

"Well, Professor Dumbledore did say the new D.A. would be helping the Aurors," Hermione whispered. "I'd guess they are just here for introductions."

Cho took a seat at the next table, claiming that she would save it for the rest of the Ravenclaws. A few minutes later, Ernie and Hannah showed up together, with similar reactions to Cho. Next was Luna with a pair of Ravenclaws. Both looked very nervous about having the Aurors in the room.

And so the pattern continued as students showed up in small groups, older students mixing with younger ones. Neville showed up with Colin and Denis, and said that Ron would be coming in the last group. The more students that showed up, the more comfortable they felt in the presence of the Aurors. It seemed less likely that they were being tricked into admitting they'd broken Ministry Decrees.

It didn't stop a pair of Hufflepuffs from turning at the door and bolting from the room. Hannah jumped from her table to try and catch them, but succeeded in stopping only one of them. She shrugged and frowned at Harry. There wasn't much they could do.

Finally, Ron showed up with Katie and after some quick checking they decided that everyone was present. Harry stood up, and the few conversations which had been taking place came to abrupt halts. It didn't even take a second to realize that there were more students there than had ever shown up at a real D.A. meeting. There were quite a few students who had decided to show up to learn what had been going on. Many of them seemed less eager to be here now.

"Is this all of them, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded.

"We're missing Marietta Edgecombe," he said quietly, "and there are a number of new students who weren't part of it."

"I see," Dumbledore said, stepping toward the tables. "Nonetheless, they will be treated the same as the rest." After hearing that, a number of students looked to the door as if they were trying to figure out how fast they could reach it. Dumbledore gave them no more time to think about it.

"Secret societies are not allowed at Hogwarts," the Headmaster announced. "The establishment and attendance of such groups on school grounds is a violation of the Ministry Rules for the governing of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Last night, those responsible for organizing the group were suitably punished for their actions, given they would organize a meeting of the rest of the members."

At this point, eyes from around the room turned to glare at Harry and the rest of the people at his table. Harry wanted to say something, but Dumbledore continued speaking.

"Now then, since that has been settled, if you would please form a queue and sign this parchment." He held up a long piece of parchment with several inches of dense writing at the top, and a large empty space for names underneath. The room was silent, except for some muffled laughter from Kingsley Shacklebolt and another one of the Aurors. Some of the students looked as if they were going to be ill, and none of them made any move toward the parchment.

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore said as he set the parchment on the table, "Sometimes I lapse into different languages. Perhaps you didn't understand what I said. I would like all of you to sign this parchment."

"You'd _like_ us to sign it?" Anthony Goldstein remarked. "We don't _have_ to sign it?"

"Certainly not," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"What happens to us if we don't sign it?" Justin Finch-Fletchley asked from another table.

"Absolutely nothing," Dumbledore replied brightly. "Now who is first? Harry? Your name truly should be at the top." Dumbledore held out the parchment and a quill to Harry, and he reluctantly took them.

"What happens if he does sign it?" asked Susan Bones.

"If he signs that parchment, he will become the very first official member of the Hogwarts Defense Association."

A murmur ran through the room as everyone attempted to understand what was happening. Hermione leaned toward Harry to read through the paragraphs of script at the top of the roll. The wording was very specific, and it seemed both highly legal and nearly unintelligible. Hermione seemed to be having an easier time than he was.

"Do it, Harry," she said with a bright smile. "Sign it."

Harry took a deep breath, and scrawled his name across the top of the empty space. Hermione took the quill after him, and wrote her name in flowing script beneath his.

"To be fair, the next names should be Miss Chang, Mr. MacMillan, Miss Bell, Miss and Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Longbottom," Dumbledore added while producing another quill and handing it to Cho. "After all, it was your agreement last night which allowed use to draw up the paperwork."

For some time the room was filled with an excited bewilderment. Eventually a queue formed and everyone in the room had their chance to enter their name and become one of the original members of the now-official Defense Association.

When that was complete, Dumbledore summoned large pitchers of butterbeer for everyone to drink as he went about explaining how this new Defense Association would be run.

As Harry listened, he realized that the two groups really weren't as similar as he had expected them to be. As Dumbledore took many minutes to explain, it was not to be a secret as the rules required, but they could choose who could and couldn't join, and they would not be required to allow non-members to attend or even know when they held any meetings. They could even keep their meetings secret from other Professors, with the exception of Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore himself.

This was quite a bit more than Harry expected, but the trade off was that they would not be allowed to prohibit entire houses from joining. The membership would be controlled by a council of members, most of which had been picked the night before by Dumbledore himself. The only two remaining spots would go to a pair of Slytherin students.

Ron groaned at the news, and by the sound of it, many of the other members agreed. "I can't even think of _one_ Slytherin I'd trust," said Ron.

"Zabini's not bad," Cho said above the murmurs of the other students.

"And that Greengrass girl —Daphne, I think— She doesn't seem like the rest of them," offered one of the new members, a seventh-year Hufflepuff girl.

No one seemed to have any big complaints against them (other than Ron, who disliked the whole idea), and no one was able to think of any other better candidates, so it was settled. Dumbledore scribbled a quick letter and handed it to one of the Aurors who left immediately.

"Due to his previous position, Harry Potter will act as the leader until your next meeting where you will formally select a leader." The different council members looked around at each other, nodding in silent agreement. Dumbledore ignored them and continued explaining that the leader would be the one in charge of meetings and any actions they took, but that he could be overruled by the council, and the council had total control over membership.

Next, the Aurors introduced themselves, and explained what they were going to be doing to keep Hogwarts safe. They planned to station a few Aurors at various locations, and let most of the rest patrol the grounds and castle. They told the students that they were going to be using sparks to signal other Aurors. If they ever saw something suspicious, they were to send up red sparks to let Aurors know. If they ever saw green sparks, they were to stay away, since that was the signal for emergency assistance.

There was quite a bit of other information that Dumbledore talked about. For the most part it was terribly boring: What to do if there was some dispute over rules, the reserving of various school areas, and a number of topics that seemed completely irrelevant.

"Harry," Ron whispered as Dumbledore continued talking, "Why would we ever want to register a mascot?"

"I don't know," Harry answered, but he listened half-heartedly as Dumbledore droned on for some time. Finally, in the middle of explaining what they should do if they wanted to change the name of the group, he was interrupted by three people walking through the door.

The first was the Auror who had left, and behind him were two students Harry recognized as Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass. They seemed terribly confused about where they were. Dumbledore took a couple minutes to explain why they had been brought there. Once everything was explained, they looked at each other, and seemed to reach some decision.

"Does our house have to know?"

"It is up to the council to decide that," Dumbledore answered with a nod toward the tables most of the council was sitting at.

"We'll do it so long as only members know that we're part of it, and we take appropriate measures to keep it that way," Blaise said, aiming his request directly at Harry. Harry simply shrugged and pointed him toward Hermione and the rest of the council. It would have to be up to them.

Cho gave Hermione a few quick nods, and a few looks around the room seemed to leave everyone in agreement. Cho stood up and handed the quill to Daphne, saying, "No one has to know unless you tell them."

As Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower, he felt happy but thoroughly exhausted. The meeting had lasted much longer than he'd first expected, and they were running dangerously close to the time when Filch would start asking questions.

The tension of that morning was shattered, and now the members of the newly re-formed Defense Association walked away with confidence and pride. Even the two Slytherins seemed genuinely glad to be part of it.

It had been a long day, and now Harry needed sleep. There would be another meeting the next day, with just Harry and the Council, so they could work out all sorts of details. But that was tomorrow. Tonight he could sleep.

* * *

Harry was frustrated. In the past, Hermione had always helped him perform whatever spell McGonagall had assigned them, but this time he'd succeeded in conjuring a quill before anyone else in the class. Instead of helping him, Hermione was giving him strange looks while she tried to help Ron. 

That was pretty much how most of his classes had gone. Professor Flitwick was so impressed that he'd made Harry stand in front of the class to demonstrate a pair of new charms. He'd singed the parchment he was supposed to be drying a little, but the mop was pleasantly soaked with water on the first try.

Harry had stopped practicing the spell. There was a list of items to try on the board, but after conjuring a few rolls of parchment and an inkwell (which had a dark red ink, not the assigned black), he stopped in order to end the looks Ron and Hermione were giving him.

"Mr. Potter?" he heard McGonagall call from the back of the room. Harry turned to see hear walking toward him.

"I've already done the first three, I'm just taking a breather—"

"I can see that, Mr. Potter, but you'll have to leave."

"Why?" Harry asked. "I haven't done anything wrong! No one else has even gotten the ink—" Harry stopped talking when he saw McGonagall's face. With a nod she directed his eyes toward the back of the room, where Albus Dumbledore stood quietly in the doorway.

"Move along now," McGonagall said quietly. "You'll not have to write the essay."

Ron and Hermione gave Harry worried looks as he gathered his things and tried to attract as little attention as someone walking down the center of a room could. At the door, he met Dumbledore who nodded and gave him a quick smile.

"Don't worry, Harry," he said quietly as he waved to Ron and Hermione who were looking more relieved. "Just some business we need to attend to, but first, you'll be needing your father's cloak."

Harry didn't understand why he needed his cloak, especially since he was supposed to go to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore had told him the password, and instructed him to wait there, under the cloak. "I will explain everything to you when it is finished, but you must not say anything until I tell you," he ordered, before walking off away from Harry.

Typical, Harry thought to himself. Everyone always wanted him to do things without knowing why they should be done. Still, Dumbledore seemed urgent, and he wanted Harry to be concealed in his office. Perhaps he was meeting with someone, and Harry would get to listen in.

With that thought to keep his spirits up, he raced up to Gryffindor Tower and fetched his cloak. As the Fat Lady swung closed, he looked about before pulling the cloak over his head. Everyone should still be in class, but Harry checked the Map quickly. Just as he expected, the halls were empty. He dashed off down the halls, unsure of how long he had before he had to be hidden in Dumbledore's office.

After giving the gargoyle the password, and peeking in the door to make sure the office was empty, Harry crept into the Headmaster's office. He'd been there on many occasions. Harry walked about the office for a moment, searching for a good place to hide.

Fawkes watched him curiously from his perch. The Sorting Hat was in its normal location as well. The collection of silver instruments still sat on the spindle legged tables, including the one Harry remembered smashing. The only thing that looked different was a small table near Dumbledore's desk. Harry didn't remember seeing it before.

He walked to the table and saw a piece of parchment on it. Scrawled across the top in immaculate script were the words _Writ of Guardianship_. Harry scanned the parchment quickly. It was a temporary agreement for someone to act as a student's guardian. Several people had already signed it, including two Ministry officials, and Dumbledore himself.

_Is this about me_, Harry wondered, _Do I get to leave the Dursley's?_ That thought made him even happier than the idea of listening in on some secret meeting. He started reading the writing more closely, hoping to find out something more before Dumbledore showed up. He had just about finished the second paragraph when the door suddenly swung open.

Harry's heart stopped and he immediately tossed himself to the floor behind Dumbledore's desk. He heard a pair of feet walk in, and then the door closed.

"What was that?" asked a young girl's voice. When she got no response, she called out. "Is someone here?"

"Oh, quite sorry, my dear," a second voice said. It seemed to be coming from the wall. "My frame, you see. The elves haven't dusted it in ages. I've been sneezing for weeks now. Albus, you really must get them to clean up here. Lazy things hardly do more than light the fires these days."

"I'll see to that, Armando," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Have a seat, Miss Goldwater." Dumbledore walked around behind his desk, stepping nimbly over Harry. He snatched a quill from his desk, wrote a quick note and then made to put it in one of the drawers, but missed and let it fall to the floor.

When Dumbledore walked away, Harry picked up the note. In quick, messy writing it said:

_Invisibility Cloak_

Harry groaned to himself and then sheepishly stood. He'd used the cloak too often, and was starting to forget when he was wearing it. Dumbledore was standing near the parchment Harry had been reading, and the girl was sitting uncomfortably in one of the chairs. Harry quietly backed up to the wall and listened.

Harry only vaguely recognized the girl. She was in Ravenclaw, and was a few years younger than he was. He didn't know her name, yet there was something about her that seemed familiar. She had straight, golden hair, and light green eyes, but beyond that, there was little for him to recognize about her.

"As you may have guessed, this is about your parents—"

"My parent, you mean" the girl interrupted.

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Yes. Yes, I suppose that is correct."

"Is she getting better?" the girl asked.

Dumbledore looked back at the girl. "She will get better. Whatever happened to her, I do not believe it is permanent."

Harry listened as Dumbledore relayed the most recent opinions and observations that the wizards at St. Mungo's had about this girls mother. It took only a moment before Harry realized that he knew what Dumbledore was talking about. _This is Capella York's daughter,_ he said to himself. _This is the girl that Voldemort threatened. The one I have to protect._

"So you don't know what happened to her?" the girl asked.

"No one is certain."

"Why them? What did they do? Why was I in danger?" she asked. Dumbledore said nothing at first. He merely gave her a sympathetic look. She got visibly annoyed and stared back at him. "Well? Why didn't they kill my mother?" When Dumbledore still didn't answer, she sat back and crossed her arms. "You still don't know anything! Why am I even here?"

"Your godfather," Dumbledore said calmly.

"I don't have a godfather anymore. He was... They were both there, too."

"Your mother has named someone else. The staff at St. Mungo's agree that she was quite explicit about it." The girl stared back at him. "Why didn't he come for me then? Why didn't he bring me to Hogwarts? Why are you taking his spot?"

Dumbledore picked up the parchment and sat down in front of her. "I'm afraid that the person your mother chose isn't able to take full responsibility for you yet. He has other obligations, and as your Headmaster, I have volunteered to take on the rest of this responsibility."

The girl narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Do I at least get to meet him? Or is he too busy to even introduce himself." Harry felt a chill go down his spine. He was her godfather. Her mother chose him. Her screams had already added themselves to his nightmares. He should have seen this coming.

"You will meet him," Dumbledore said, trying to calm her. "But not today. First you must sign this," he said, indicating the parchment. "If you do not, I'm afraid the Ministry will take responsibility for you."

The grimace on the girl's face showed her feelings on that matter, though they didn't seem much less favorable than her opinion of signing the parchment. Finally, she grabbed the quill and parchment and signed her name.

"Now, we just need one last signature," Dumbledore announced. He stood and placed the parchment on his desk and placed the quill next to it. He turned to look at Harry. "Sign here, please," he said in a low voice.

Harry carefully walked forward and picked up the quill. He heard a gasp from the girl as he started to scrawl his name across the line. Harry finished and set down the quill. Above his name, written in elegant but shaky script, was the name 'Claire Goldwater'.

Dumbledore quickly took the parchment and rolled it up. Fawkes leapt from his perch, grabbed the parchment, and was out the window before Harry understood what was going on. Dumbledore turned back to the girl. "Thank you, Miss Goldwater. I understand if you're upset—"

"He's HERE?" Claire roared. Even Dumbledore seemed surprised by her sudden anger. He tried to calm her, but she ignored him. "He's here, but you won't even tell me who he is! Why?"

"It's for the best. You must—"

"For the best? What is he? A criminal? Is he horribly disfigured? Is he some monster? Or is he just a COWARD?" she yelled as she charged toward Dumbledore's desk. "What's the point of having a godfather if he doesn't want anything to do with me? What good is it if he doesn't even have the courage to show his face?"

Harry backed away to the wall as Claire reached out blindly for him. "Where are you? Why are you hiding?" she shouted as she worked her way toward Harry.

"Stop this, Miss Goldwater!" Dumbledore said as he stepped between Claire and Harry. "You must trust my judgment on this. You will be safer not knowing who your mother chose to protect you."

Claire stopped and glared at Dumbledore. "And why do I need protecting?" she said in an accusatory tone. "What am I being protected from? My family is dead. I'm all that's left. Where was he when my family was being killed?" Her face was crimson with rage. "Was he hiding then, too?" She picked up a small silver object off an nearby table, and sent it flying at the wall behind Dumbledore.

Harry ducked and heard it smash against the wall where his head had just been. When Harry looked up again, Claire was at the door.

"Where were you when my family needed you!" she shouted back at the room, knowing Harry was there somewhere. "Where will you be when I need you? Hiding? Watching like some coward?" She wrenched the door open and scowled back into the room. "I have no godfather!" she shouted back through the door before she slammed it behind her.

Albus Dumbledore walked slowly to his desk and slowly sat down in the chair. He rubbed his eyes and let out an exhausted sigh. With a lazy wave of his hand the silver shards around Harry's feet reassembled themselves on a nearby table.

"Sit down, Harry."

Harry pulled the cloak off and sat down in a nearby chair. He felt cold and self-conscious. "Was that what it was like with me?" he asked.

"No, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly, "I'm afraid you were much more angry than Miss Goldwater, and rightfully so. Her anger is due more to the feeling of being alone. She's not so different from you, now, but you've had fifteen years to accept the loss of your parents."

"Why not tell her who I am, then? Wouldn't she feel better knowing someone was nearby?"

"She might," agreed Dumbledore. "But I am certain that Voldemort intended for her mother to choose you as her guardian. While I cannot stop her from doing that, we must make it appear that we have. No one must think you are responsible for her."

"She lost her family because of me," Harry reminded him.

"She and her mother are still alive because of you," Dumbledore corrected him. "And they may yet make it. Tom Riddle has never known compassion. Claire and her mother are alive because Voldemort wanted them to live. I believe that he wants to lure you away from Hogwarts, away from those who can protect you. Without my intervention, you would have needed to sign those papers at the Ministry. That was perhaps only the first try."

Dumbledore looked directly at Harry, "We must be very careful. You do not need to protect Claire Goldwater. She is safe here. Her protection is now as important as yours. Indeed, they may be much more linked than I had first thought. If you were to put her protection above your own, you would sacrifice both your lives for nothing."

Harry tried to convince himself that Dumbledore was right as he walked back to Gryffindor Tower. By the time he was walking back down from his dormitory he was trying to tell himself that he would have decided the same thing. He sat alone in front of the small fire.

He'd lied to himself. He knew it wasn't what he'd have done.

He was doomed. If he tried to help her, he'd put her in more danger. Yet, he couldn't just sit around and wait for Voldemort to do whatever he was planning. It seemed there was no correct answer, and so Harry sat and stared into the fire, waiting for his friends to return.

* * *

Harry gloomily picked at his food during the meal that night. Ron and Hermione had stopped asking questions after realizing Harry's frustration was due to his inability to tell them what was bothering him. Instead, they made small talk, which didn't make him feel much better. Ginny remained mostly quiet during supper as well, and Harry knew that she would be expecting an explanation later. 

Harry left the Great Hall early that night. Ginny left shortly after him, getting a suspicious glance from Hermione and a farewell muffled by mouthful of pudding from Ron. She found Harry sitting silently in a corner of the Gryffindor Common Room. He quietly told her what had happened in Dumbledore's office.

"He's probably right, you know," Ginny said reluctantly.

"I know. I guess I was hoping that once I got back here... well... you know.."

"That it would stop?" Ginny said skeptically. "I wish that were true."

Harry sighed and just sat in the corner for some time. Before long, other students started returning, including Hermione and Ron. Hermione immediately sat down to begin working on her Transfiguration essay. Ron joined her, no doubt hoping he could get a little help on his own essay.

Harry sat loyally beside them, reading through his Potions text yet again. The chapter had been painfully boring the first time, but the second and third times were simply mind numbing. Ginny was sitting across the room playing with one of her friend's cats. She was using her wand to turn it various colors and the cat seemed to be enjoying the attention. Ginny noticed him and smiled lightly.

Harry turned back to his book. He was getting nowhere. He couldn't concentrate. Surely reading the chapter twice would be enough. It's not like it would do him any good. Snape would find a way to ridicule him.

That night Harry had trouble getting to sleep. His mind kept replaying what had taken place that afternoon. It had been his first chance to speak with the girl who's parents he'd seen attacked, and Dumbledore wouldn't let him talk to her.

He'd been right to. It probably was better that she not know her godfather was Harry Potter. She'd be safer if no one else knew. No one else knew why her parents had been attacked. The Ministry had kept it quiet, fearing attacks on the other wizards on the panel. No one else knew Harry's connection to the attacks. It was just another Death Eater attack, and she was just another child orphaned by one.

The thing that kept him awake, however, had been her reaction. Her anger had surprised him. That was, perhaps, the only good result of his hiding. He might still be able to talk to her so long as she didn't know that he was the one she'd been yelling at. He made up his mind at that moment to try and find a way to talk to her. If he couldn't be her godfather, he could at least be her friend.

As he drifted off to sleep, he relived the meeting again and again. In his dreams Harry wasn't under his Invisibility Cloak, and she was yelling directly at him. Every time she would run off, slamming the door behind her. Sometimes Harry would run after her, sometimes he slump into a chair. It didn't seem to matter. She would always end up back there, yelling at him, blaming him for not being there for her parents.

The dream repeated itself throughout the night, until it changed. He was back under the cloak. She couldn't see him, but it didn't stop her from saying horrible things about him. When she turned and made for the door, Harry bolted after her. As she ran down the stairs, he kept up with her, but after she leapt off the last stair she steadily sped away from him. He followed as quickly as he could.

He just needed to talk with her, to tell her that there was nothing he could have done. He knew she wouldn't want to talk to him. She'd been angry at Dumbledore's unwillingness to answer her questions. Why her parents? Why them out of everyone? Why had her mother been spared but taken from her? Even Harry couldn't answer them all.

He saw her slip into the Great Hall, closing the giant doors behind her. As he reached them, he heaved them open and dashed into the Hall. He stopped immediately. It was almost completely dark. There was no moonlight coming from the enchanted ceiling. In fact, it looked completely ordinary. In the murky darkness he could only barely make out the rough, domed ceiling. The only light in the Hall came from a small torch near a hooded figure leaning over a book.

Harry approached slowly. He could feel that something wasn't right. This wasn't the Great Hall, and the figure wasn't Claire. The room was empty except for the figure in the center, and Harry couldn't find the door he'd entered through. Harry crept toward the figure, trying to identify it. As he inched closer, pale, bony fingers snaked out of the robes to turn the page of a book in front of it. Harry froze. he'd seen that hand to many times to mistake it. He began to back away as quickly as he felt he could without making noise.

"Good Evening, Potter," echoed a cold, high pitched voice. "You should know by now that it is foolish to try to sneak off."

Harry stopped. He mastered his fear and stepped forward. Voldemort couldn't hurt him in his dreams. That was why he was here. Voldemort couldn't get to him. He was safe at Hogwarts. He walked forward until he could almost read the book over Voldemort's shoulder. He gathered as much confidence as he could, hoping to sound almost arrogant.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"I haven't brought you anywhere," came the response. He continued to read the book, almost ignoring Harry. "This is simply a means —a method for me talk to you— and it was not me who brought you here. Though I was expecting it, you chose to come to me willingly."

"Fine. Why did I come here, then?" Harry asked impatiently.

"Answers," Voldemort replied nonchalantly as he turned another page. "You seek answers to questions no one understands, and information that Albus Dumbledore won't give you. I know such things and you know that, even if only in your unconscious mind."

"Right, I've just recently taken up chatting with murderous cowards so I'm sure this will be brilliant."

Voldemort's head bowed a bit and rocked slowly side to side. "I would have thought Albus and his followers would have at least taught you respect for your superiors by now." Then his head straightened and looked to the darkened ceiling. "But perhaps you are beginning to finally see it."

"I see more than you realize," Harry said, though he had no idea what Voldemort had been trying to hint at. The last thing Harry wanted was to be led through this conversation like some lost puppy.

"Of course you do," Voldemort replied as he looked back to his book. "You came to me because you know I won't lie to you like that fool. I do not see you as some weapon to keep locked safe when unneeded and wielded only when necessary. To me, you are much more."

Was that his game, Harry wondered. Was he trying to convince Harry to join him? Harry let out a short laugh. "I won't follow you. I won't be one of your spineless slaves."

"Of course not," laughed Voldemort in agreement. "And I would not allow it. You would make a most unacceptable servant. No, I see you as a true rival. Even now you are quite powerful, and can accomplish many things you don't yet understand. I regret that in my youth I had no adversary who challenged me as I challenge you." Voldemort paused as he turned another page. "There are a number of similarities between us."

"Yeah, you've already told me that. Right before I destroyed you."

Voldemort's head looked up briefly, then nodded. "The Diary, is it? Of course, it would have been more apparent then. I had not progressed as far as I have now." His voice became more conversational as he continued. "I hear Lucius gave it a small girl? I must assume you saved her."

Harry stayed quiet. He didn't want to talk about Ginny at all. Getting no response, Voldemort nodded his head again and gave a hissing laugh. "Of course," he said with a dismissing wave of his skeletal hand. "Perhaps some other night. We were talking about Albus Dumbledore. Each day he grows older and weaker, and each day his fear grows."

"He doesn't fear you," proclaimed Harry.

"Perhaps not, but he does fear you, Harry Potter. He fears the power you hold. He sees the similarities as easily as you and I," Voldemort said. His eyes flashed as he stared off into the dark. "He's afraid that one day you'll awaken and realize your true power. It's inside you now and it's growing every day. You may walk a different path, but your destination is no different than mine."

"No!" Harry shouted as he backed away. "I'll never be like you!"

Voldemort closed up the book and stood. "No, you won't," he said as he turned about, as if trying to find Harry. His face was covered in shadow, but the torchlight glinted off his crimson eyes. His face broke into a sneer.

"You'll be dead, and the shackles of Albus Dumbledore will be your downfall."

"Then I'll die!" Harry shouted as he kept backing away. "I'd rather die than end up like you!"

Voldemort stood in place as Harry retreated. "Foolish boy!" he shouted to the ceiling. "You already are like me. You must see it. Why do you fight it? You are only fighting yourself."

Harry searched the black for a door. He needed to leave. His mind swam in doubt and fear. He wasn't like Tom Riddle. He'd fight. Voldemort was making him doubt himself. He needed to leave, but everywhere he looked he saw only solid stone.

"This is what futility is, Potter. You found your way in, but only I know the way out. Remember that, Potter. The only way out for you is through me."

Harry turned to look at Voldemort. The book he had been holding was dropping to the floor. It landed with a thunderous noise which echoed throughout the enormous chamber. As the book flopped closed, Harry felt the world swirling about him as pain ripped through his forehead.

He leapt awake with a shout. His head was burning and throbbing. After pulling open the bed curtains, he stood and walked to the window, rubbing his scar.

"Harry?" Ron asked groggily, "What's the matter?"

Harry paused for a bit. "Nothing, Ron. Just a bad dream," he finally answered.

"What kind of dream? Should we talk to Dumbledore?"

Harry was silent as he tried to decide what he should do. Did Dumbledore know he could talk with Voldemort? What would he say? He'd deny it, of course. But that's what Voldemort would say he'd do. It would accomplish nothing. Maybe he could talk to Ginny about it, but Harry couldn't see how help would come from telling Dumbledore.

"No, Ron. Just a normal bad dream. Go back to sleep."

* * *

Author's Notes: 

For those of you waiting to see more action from Hermione, you'll finally get what you're waiting for. Well, a little bit at least. Make no mistake: I didn't forget about Hermione. I was very conscious of the fact that they haven't played very large parts yet. I had plans for both of them, and you'll read them in time.

As for this chapter, those of you who've been thinking there is something odd and important about Harry's dreams hopefully have a little more of an answer. This is a very important chapter story-wise. This is one of the points where the story shifts along a different course. Most important is the conversation Harry has with Voldemort. This isn't the last you'll be seeing of some of those themes.

I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming chapters.


	19. Searing Spirit Safety

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 19 - Searing Spirit Safety**

* * *

"Today you will be learning the first of a number of maintenance potions that you will be using for the rest of your time in my classroom," announced Snape as he threw open the doors to a large wooden storage cabinet. He continued to speak at them as he traced his wand over the page of a large tome on his desk.

"Today's lesson will be the brewing of an advanced scouring solution which you will be needing in the upcoming weeks when you attempt your first Binding Broth and fail like every class before you."

Harry looked to the board to find that the directions for making the potion were slowly writing themselves onto the board. Next to him, Hermione was already pulling their cauldron onto the table.

"This particular version is exceptional at the removal of hardened magical deposits on durable objects," Snape continued in the same sour voice he used every day. "It will also remove flesh from bones, and is often used when harvesting Grindylow fingers. It will not, however, discriminate between the fingers of Grindylows and foolish students, so do show at least a minimum amount of care. The potash and Searing Spirits can be found in the Advanced Potions cabinet—" he waved his hand impatiently at the open cabinet "—If you cannot find them yourself, I suggest you leave this class now. If any of you have bought cheaper cauldrons in order to save a Galleon or two, we will find out by the end of class."

Harry pulled open his book to study the page opposite the recipe Snape had put on the board. It listed a number of precautions to take while making the potion, one with a particularly graphic illustration. Harry went about reading the instructions while Hermione set up the cauldron and the fire. As Harry finished, Hermione began rummaging in her bag for the first of the ingredients.

Harry caught a brief glimpse of Snape glaring at him and Hermione, but ignored it. He'd done fine in all of the previous lessons, and it seemed to be annoying Snape more each day. It provided an excellent incentive for Harry to work even harder.

Together, he and Hermione worked quickly to crush their scarab legs and grind the sulfur into a fine yellow powder. When the cauldron was hot, they were both added to the rest of the ingredients and slowly mixed into the potion. Harry looked down at his book.

"It says it's supposed to sit until it turns clear again," Harry said quietly.

"Come on then, Harry," Hermione said as Harry watched the grey liquid swirl and fume in the cauldron. "Let's get the rest of our ingredients while there isn't a queue."

Harry grabbed a metal bowl for the potash and a stone one for the Searing Spirits. The book had been very clear about not putting the Spirits into a metal container.

They were the first to get to the cabinet, and Hermione immediately pulled the large flask with the Searing Spirits from the shelf. Harry found the potash, and began carefully measuring the needed amount from the glass cannister.

Hermione finished and placed the heavy stone flask back in the cabinet as Harry struggled to screw the lid back onto his container. Behind him, he heard more students walking toward him, with Millicent Bullstrode's voice rising above the rest.

"Of course Potter and Granger have to get their ingredients before anyone else," she said just loud enough for Harry to hear.

Hermione turned to scowl at her. "I hope you aren't planning on using those," she said as Millicent placed two metal goblets on the table near the cabinet.

"I don't need help from you," she sneered, as she reached for the Searing Spirits. She grabbed the stone stopper and pulled, but nothing happened. She gave it an accusing look, then pulled harder. She glared at Hermione.

"Miss Bullstrode," Snape said in a pained voice, "if you pour the contents of that jar into that cup, you'll spend this night and the next replacing my table and floor."

Harry looked over to see Snape pointing his wand at the stone flask in Millicent's hands. With a frown, she put it down onto the table and sent her partner back for their stone bowl. Hermione began slowly walking back to their cauldron while Harry gathered the last ingredients from the cabinet. Millicent carelessly dumped potash into her other goblet, and threw the cannister back onto the shelf.

Harry followed her as she walked quickly back to her seat. As she passed Hermione, she bumped Hermione's elbow with her arm, causing a couple nearby Slytherin's to laugh quietly. Harry gave them a nasty look as he walked to catch up with Hermione. She'd stopped where Millicent had bumped into her. Harry caught her up a moment later.

She was standing completely still, holding the bowl some distance from body. There was a faint hissing sound coming from the floor. Harry looked down to see a decently large pool of watery liquid, hissing and steaming on the rough stone.

"Don't worry about it," Harry said quietly, "We'll just get more." Hermione didn't seem to be listening to him. She was quite pale and continued to stare at the bowl in her hands. It was still dripping, and Harry watched as another drop fell to the floor. With a chill, he realized that it wasn't like the rest of the liquid. It was thick and red and bubbled as it mixed with the rest of the pool.

Harry looked up to see a tortured look on Hermione's face. He heard a slight gurgle escape her throat as she quickly took the last few steps to their table. The table hissed under the bowl, but Harry's eyes were drawn instead to Hermione's left hand.

The skin was bubbling grotesquely and bleeding out of what looked to be thousands of small cuts spread over the back of her fingers and hand. Harry forced himself to swallow. Hermione suddenly gasped and fell to her knees with a weak whimper.

"Professor Snape!" Harry shouted. "Professor! Hermione's hurt!"

Snape looked up, seemingly uninterested. His eyes perked up slightly at the sight of Hermione kneeling on the floor and clutching her wrist. "I'm certain it is not life threatening, Potter. Perhaps it will be a reminder to show more caution when dealing with dangerous ingredients."

There was a mixture of outraged gasps and sneering laughter from the class. Harry knelt down next to Hermione as she choked and gasped in agony. Gingerly, he lifted her back to her feet and helped her stumble toward the front of the classroom.

"Professor, we need to use your fireplace," Harry begged. "It's really bleeding badly."

Snape stared coolly back at Harry. "While many of us may have considered doing so long ago, Potter, I believe that burning Miss Granger for simply spilling ingredients is perhaps too severe of a punishment. I think the loss of her hand would be sufficient." A strangled wail escaped Hermione's mouth and she collapsed fully against Harry, making him lose his balance.

As he stumbled and caught himself and Hermione, he caught a brief glimpse of the pool of spattered blood at his feet. As he took a moment to look at Hermione again, he was sickened by the amount of blood smeared over both her arms, and with a cold stab of panic he realized that his own hands were covered with it as well.

The images flashed through his mind quickly. A sharp blade. The loathsome face of Peter Pettigrew as he cut into Harry's arm. The boiling cauldron as Lord Voldemort rose, embodied and rejuvenated. The sick feeling in his stomach seemed to travel up his chest, where it grew hotter, turning into a burning rage as Harry turned his eyes back to Snape.

"We're taking the Floo to the Hospital Wing," Harry declared with a scowl. His mind traveled to his wand, still in his robe pocket. It wouldn't take much to overpower Snape if he stood in his way, and he almost wished that Snape would.

Snape seemed to feel Harry's anger and he took a step away from his pupil, grimacing as if Harry had threatened him. Then Harry saw something odd: a twitch, perhaps more. Snape's left arm recoiled, and his right instinctively grabbed his left forearm. The moment seemed to pass, but Snape's anger was quickly outpacing Harry's.

"I don't know where you've gotten the idea that this fireplace can take you anywhere, but even if it were possible I _would not_ allow you or your Mu—" Snape paused to take a deep breath "—your partner to do so during class." For a moment, Harry and Severus Snape stood locked in their places, waging an invisible battle of wills. They were interrupted by a cry from Hermione as she stumbled again.

"Miss Granger, you may make your way to the Hospital Wing," announced Snape. Harry turned and began helping Hermione limp to the doorway as quickly as he could.

"She may go, but you may not," Snape called out as Harry quickly waved his wand at his bag, making it pack itself and leap to him. "You will stay and clean up the mess she's caused, or you'll receive no marks for the entire day." Harry ignored him.

"MY OFFICE! NOW, POTTER!" Snape shouted as Harry walked out the door. As he turned the corner and started almost dragging Hermione down the corridor, he could still hear Snape shouting.

"POTTER! I'LL HAVE YOU EXPELLED FOR THIS!"

He didn't care. He wouldn't have Hermione permanently injured because Snape needed some way to punish him for making it into Advanced Potions. If anything, he was the one who should've been in her place. She'd get top marks in the class, but Harry would be lucky if he'd even make it though the year.

That seemed especially doubtful now. Snape would have him kicked out for certain, now. Harry doubted he'd be expelled. Dumbledore wouldn't allow it, not in the middle of a war centered on him. And if he did...

Harry didn't have a chance to finish that thought. He'd pulled Hermione through the threshold into the Hospital Wing. With a rasping sigh, Hermione collapsed onto the ground.

"Mister Potter! What has happened? Quick, call the Aurors!"

Madam Pomfrey raced to Hermione, her wand out and spraying red sparks toward the ceiling. Harry tried to stop and tell her what had happened, but she pushed him away as she scooped Hermione up and brought her to an empty bed.

"Who did this, Mr. Potter?" she finally asked as she waved her wand furiously over Hermione's injured hand.

"Er... Millicent Bullstrode," Harry said with some uncertainty. Madam Pomfrey stopped her work to stare at Harry.

"Miss Bullstrode attacked her?"

"Well, no," Harry started. "It was an accident— Well, it wasn't really an accident," he continued haltingly, "but it looked like it was an accident..."

"I think I understand," Madam Pomfrey said in a voice filled with disapproval. "Was it Searing Spirits or a Decaying Potion?"

"Searing Spirits."

"Should I ask why you didn't go to Professor Snape first?"

"He didn't want to help," Harry said bitterly. "He said that it wasn't life threatening."

Madam Pomfrey made an annoyed sound, and pulled Hermione to her feet. She was quite pale by now, and couldn't even stand on her own. Pomfrey led her to another room, giving Harry no indication that he should follow. He sat down on the bed, hoping that Snape had been exaggerating about the effects of the potion.

"Sit down here, dear," he heard Pomfrey tell Hermione. "I need to you hold your hand still for me... I know it hurts, but this will make it better... Hold it steady, now."

Harry sat impatiently as a moment of silence passed. Part of him wanted to know what was happening, but part of him knew better. This was confirmed a second later when a shriek echoed through the Hospital Wing. It gradually trailed off into a coughing moan.

"There, there," Madam Pomfrey said in comforting tone. "That's the worst of it... No, dear, away from your hand."

Harry sat confused for a moment, but any questions he had were answered a moment later. He heard the unmistakable sound of someone who was suddenly and uncontrollably sick.

A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey emerged, frowning and holding a large bottle of a blue-green liquid. She set it on the table near the bed Hermione had been laying in. With a wave of her wand, the blood on the bed was gone, and the sheets fixed themselves.

"I'll need to talk to Severus Snape, though I doubt very much that you are the one to deliver that message," she said. "I suppose you may stay here while she relaxes and the potion takes effect."

So Harry sat and waited. When Pomfrey returned from talking to the Aurors she wrapped Hermione's hand in simple white bandages and ordered her to lay in the bed and drink the potion on the table next to her.

Hermione's lips curled at the thought of drinking the entire bottle, but a quick look at her hand seemed to encourage her. After half the bottle, she began talking to Harry again. They talked briefly about the class, wondering if they'd have to go back to pick up Hermione's bag and supplies.

Talking about anything else seemed petty to Harry, so he decided to remain silent. Hermione didn't seem to mind, and took the opportunity to drink as much of the potion as she could force down her throat at one time.

"Hermione!" came a shout from the door. It was Ron. He came running from the other side of room, with an extra beg slung over his shoulder. "Dean just told me what happened! What was Bullstrode thinking? Even I know what Searing Spirits do, and she threw a bowl at you?"

"That wasn't the way it happened, Ron," Hermione said with a grimace. Harry gave her a sympathetic smile. At least it wasn't him drinking the potion for once. He had to admit that as bad as he felt for Hermione, it was much easier to be the one watching someone else drinking the potion than to drink it himself.

"It wasn't?" Ron said as he flopped down on the foot of the bed. "They said that you and Harry were doing better than everyone else, and that Bullstrode and the Slytherins were jealous, so she attacked Harry and got you instead."

"Who are _they_?" Hermione asked.

"Well...er... you know. It's what everyone is saying," Ron tried to explain.

"Well, they're all _wrong_, aren't they?" Hermione huffed. "I was carrying the Spirits back to our table, and Millicent bumped me. It could've been an accident."

"It wasn't an accident," Harry interjected.

"Well, it's not that far off," Ron said dismissively as he slid one of the bags toward Hermione. "Here's your stuff, by the way. One of the Hufflepuffs got it for you."

"Thanks," Hermione said, "but you should know better than to trust what everyone else says. It wasn't like Millicent attacked us."

"That's not the point is it?" Ron asked as if Hermione hadn't been listening. "Everyone else thinks she did, and here's the best part: McGonagall heard about it and Colin said he heard her yelling at Snape after he dismissed the Potions class. I think you're both still in for a bit of detention, but it sounds like Millicent got it worse, and Snape's up in Dumbledore's office right now."

"That'll be brilliant," Harry said as he sat back in his chair. "I can't wait for the next class." Even Hermione was frowning.

Ron's eyebrows dipped together in thought. "I guess I hadn't thought of it that way," he said. "I guess it's not quite so good, is it? Still, he wouldn't go against Dumbledore, would he? Dumbledore's all he's got now."

"And he's been so reasonable around me until now..." Harry replied. Ron gave up. Harry knew that this would just make things worse, and he knew that he hadn't really tried to make it better. He'd had little choice. Hermione never would have made it to the Hospital Wing alone, and Snape would have found a way to get Harry even more hacked off. Still, he hadn't given McGonagall and Dumbledore much to argue with.

Harry sat passively as Ron and Hermione moved onto less stressful topics. Hermione eventually finished her potion and her mood seemed to brighten almost immediately. Madam Pomfrey walked in a short while later, and escorted Hermione into the other room to look at her hand. She returned a minute later, without Hermione.

"Miss Granger's hand will be fine," she announced. "I am not finished treating it, but it won't be much longer. Wait here if you like, Mr. Weasley, but you," she said as she glared at Harry, "are supposed to see the Headmaster."

With a shrug, Harry stood and said goodbye to his friends. As he left the Hospital Wing, he glanced at a large clock floating above the doorway. He hoped that it wouldn't take too long. It wasn't long before the evening meal, and his stomach was already making noises.

When Harry finally returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, tired and unfed, he found Ron and Hermione waiting for him. The one person Harry really wanted to see, however, was absent.

"How's the hand?"

Hermione held up her hand, which was only lightly wrapped with gauze. "It's fine, really," she said lightly. "Madam Pomfrey said to keep the bandages on since the skin will still be a bit sensitive for the next few days."

"That's good. We should tell Ginny what happened. After what Ron said, I don't think anyone is going to enjoy Potions tomorrow. I think it's probably best to warn her and the other fifth years. Is she up in her dormitory?"

Hermione tried to hide a small smile. "She never came back after supper— Wait, calm down Harry. She's fine. She just went somewhere else. I'm not actually sure where."

"She went to the library, I think," Ron said, "with her new friend."

Harry looked at Ron and then Hermione, hoping for some more information than that. Eventually Ron supplied some.

"It was actually rather embarrassing," Ron explained. "Ginny spent most of the meal introducing herself to all the younger Gryffindors. Something about 'being a good prefect'. Rubbish."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. Ron glared back at her, but continued.

"Then before the meal was even over, she gets up and walks over to the Ravenclaw table and starts introducing herself to all the the second year's."

Hermione sighed in frustration. "They were third year's, Ron."

"What's the difference?"

"A year, Ronald. I don't see what your problem is."

"Of course you wouldn't," Ron replied. Ron and Hermione were doing this more often, now. Eventually he'd find out what Ginny was doing, but he wondered if it would be worth sitting through an argument.

Ron sat up to look directly at Hermione. "I mean, you're just one of her friends. I was the one everyone was looking at. It's like they expected me to stop her. She hasn't listened to me for years."

"Honestly, Ron. There is nothing wrong with Ginny making friends in Ravenclaw. Luna's a Ravenclaw."

"Right, but she's a fifth year, not a second year—"

"—They were _third_ years—"

"—and its not like we left Gryffindor table to go chat her up when we were bored. Plus, she's Luna Lovegood. No one really notices if anyone acts odd around her. Now, if a fifth year goes and starts making friends with a load of second years—"

"THEY WERE THIRD YEARS!" Hermione shouted at him.

"WHO CARES?" Ron shouted back. "If she wants to go meet other students, that's just fine, but she doesn't have to go and sit with them during dinner as if she was one of them." Ron mercifully said nothing more, giving Harry an opportunity to jump in and get some questions answered.

"And Ginny went to the library with them?"

Ron turned to look at Harry. "I'm not sure," he said as he forced himself to smile. "I think it was just her and one of the Ravenclaws. I hope she's a bit more normal than Luna." Hermione sighed loudly, and scowled at him. Ron frowned and turned away from her. "What did Dumbledore have to say?"

"About what you'd expect," Harry said dismissively. "He said I shouldn't have ignored Snape and that Snape wouldn't have let Hermione get permanently injured. Seemed a bit bored with it, but he sure took his time letting me go." Harry eventually decided that missing the meal was probably the worst punishment that Dumbledore was going to give him. Snape however, would be a different story.

"I bet Snape was lurking about, trying to make sure you were properly scolded," Ron added.

"I'm famished. I'm going to go see if Dobby can find me some food," Harry said. "I'll see if I can find Ginny and tell her about Snape, while I'm out."

"Good luck," Ron called out as Harry walked toward the portrait hole. "Try to talk some sense into her if you can. She seems to listen to you more than me, lately."

Harry ignored his hunger and walked quickly toward the library, instead. There weren't many Ravenclaw third years. It couldn't just be a coincidence. What was she trying to do? Harry starked walking faster. Whatever she was doing, he wanted to see what it was before Madam Pince kicked them out.

His spirits dropped when he finally reached the library. It was completely silent, and there weren't any signs of anyone inside. Even Madam Pince was gone. Even if Ginny would have been here, Filch would have kicked them out without Pince around.

Harry had turned and started walking back toward the Common Room when he heard a familiar voice. Ginny's voice. Then another voice. Harry couldn't be sure, but it could have been Claire Goldwater. He wished he had brought his Invisibility Cloak with him. He would just have to listen to them the old fashioned way.

Harry edged closer to the door to hear what they were saying. The room was small, an abandoned office perhaps. Ginny and Claire were sitting by the window looking at the moon, talking quietly.

"I hope you'll forgive me for not feeling any safer." It was Claire, and Harry could hear the bitterness in her voice.

"Well it's better than nothing," Ginny replied, somewhat lamely. She sounded as if she was losing whatever argument they were having.

"Hardly," Claire continued. "I didn't have a big family. They all.." She paused a bit before continuing on. "They're all gone now. Where was my _godfather_ when he came for them? He must be pretty useless if they didn't even think he was worth hunting down."

"He can't be all that bad if Dumbledore trusts him."

"Dumbledore!" snorted Claire. "Dumbledore wouldn't even tell me why I couldn't meet him," Claire said. "Instead, I got 'It's for the best...' He was there, Ginny. I heard him. I saw the pen moving. He didn't want to talk to me. He didn't want to deal with me."

"You don't know that," Ginny replied. "He showed up, didn't he? It doesn't sound like it was an easy thing to arrange." There was a long pause.

"I just... I don't have anyone else left, you know? He took them all. Even my mother." Harry could hear Claire sniffling. "The only person I might have left doesn't even want to introduce himself. It was like losing one more person. Can you imagine what it's like? You've probably never been this alone."

"I don't know. I've felt alone. It was a long time ago. I've tried to forget about it. It was... different than what you're going through."

"But you're not alone anymore. You still have a family. You don't know what that feels like." There was another long pause.

"Why me? What did I do? Why did he leave me alive?"

After another long pause, Ginny slowly tried to answer her. "The reasons these things happen... they... they aren't rational. It doesn't matter why—"

"What did I do? I barely knew he existed!"

"It's nothing you did, you mustn't— It was—" Ginny's voice was cut short. Harry's heart skipped as well. What was she about to say? Harry heard the soft taps of small shoes hitting the dusty floor, then scuffle slowly away from the window.

"W-What?" Claire said in a choked voice, as Harry heard her feet slowly backing toward the door. "You— You know why, don't you? Dumbledore wouldn't tell me. No one would tell me. How do you know? Why did you want to talk to me? W-What... What is this?"

"No, Claire, I-I was just trying to say that—"

"You're going to lie to me, now? You said you wanted to be my friend. Was that a lie, too?

"No, it's not that..." Ginny's eyes widened as she watched Harry step through the doorway. Her voice became more relaxed, and almost peaceful. "I'm sorry, Claire, I can't tell you. I made a promise."

"A promise? To whom? How many other people know about this? Who told you?" Harry could hear the same bitter anger she'd shown in Dumbledore's office. It was time.

"I told her."

Claire spun around to stare at Harry with large eyes.

A weak smile crept across Ginny's face. "Claire Goldwater, meet Harry Potter."

Harry stepped forward and lightly shook Claire's small hand. Ginny had done this. She'd somehow planned things to work out like this. Harry looked at her and saw the happiness in her eyes. Claire seemed to simply peer at him in awed confusion.

"How do you... Where..." Her mouth continued to move, silently skipping between all the questions racing through her head. She sat back on the window seat clumsily, her eyes squinting at Harry. Finally, she regained her voice.

"Why... Why did you make her promise not to tell me?"

"Well, she promised not to tell _anyone_. No one else knows. It's kind of a secret." Harry explained. "I never really meant to keep it from you, but I didn't know who you were, either."

"Who told you?" Her tone was calm but direct. She wasn't letting Harry distract her with other questions.

"Like I said, no one else knows. I..." Harry paused as he tried to think of some better way of explaining it, but there was no better way. "I saw it."

Claire stiffed. "You saw it?" Claire stood up and started walking toward Harry. "You were there? You watched him attack my family?"

"Claire, it's not what you think—" Ginny started to say.

"Apparently, not," she snapped. She gave Harry an appraising look. "Considering my family is dead or insane, I'd say he came out pretty well. So much for the Great Harry Potter. I guess I always knew there was a limit to that Gryffindor bravery."

Harry said nothing, but simply stared back at her. Claire seemed momentarily confused by his passive response, but it didn't stop her from continuing. "Everyone else is dead, but you escaped. Have a knack for that, do you?" Again, Harry remained silent. It wasn't a new thought to him. That seemed to be what normally happened. He always seemed to escape while others sacrificed themselves, or simply got in the way.

"Harry, stop it," Ginny interrupted. "There was nothing you could do." Ginny was up and walking as well, but she wasn't headed toward Harry. Instead she walked right past him to the door. She glanced outside and down the hallway before shutting the door tightly. She pulled out her wand and cast a simple Silencing Charm to prevent them from being heard. When she was done she turned at glared expectantly at Harry.

Harry turned to look at Claire, who had adopted Ginny's expectant look. With a sigh, Harry walked to the window seat and sat down.

"I saw it all, but I wasn't there." This only confused Claire more, and Harry knew he'd have to explain quite a bit to her.

"Sometimes I see things... things Voldemort is doing." Claire jumped at the name, but said nothing. "I've seen lots of things. He's made me see them all. There's nothing I can do to stop what happens." Claire's anger was ebbing, slowly being replaced by curiosity and a little pity.

She glanced to Ginny, then back to Harry. "Like the platform... at King's Cross? You had to watch them all..." Harry nodded. Claire slumped a little where she stood. Harry hoped he hadn't made her feel bad. She seemed suddenly smaller and more vulnerable than she was when Harry had first seen her.

"He hates you because you defeated him," she said as she stared out the window behind Harry. "What did I do? Why me?"

"Ginny was right, you know," Harry started. "It wasn't you. He's just using you." Harry explained the little he'd heard about Claire's mother and Bellatrix's trial.

"So it's all just revenge for the Lestranges?"

"I suppose," Harry said with a shrug. "There really isn't any reason. None of the attacks made sense, did they? He was just hurting people, for no reason."

It wasn't a very comforting answer but it seemed enough for Claire. She relaxed and started talking more and asking less questions. She was mostly lonely. She had only a few friends, and many people were avoiding her, as if her bad fortune would rub off on them.

Harry felt his first pangs of guilt. What if Voldemort had meant what he said? What if he meant to punish Claire's mother by attacking Claire and those around her? He was probably just trying to get a reaction from Harry. It had worked. Would Voldemort actually do it? Whatever the answer was, now was not the time to tell Claire about it.

"Well, just look at Harry. He has plenty of friends," Ginny said as she tried to encourage Claire. "Everyone is a bit frightened right now. It'll get better."

"Yes, we'll he's also _Harry Potter_, isn't he?" Claire replied. "Not to mention he's a Gryffindor. Makes a difference, you know. The Ravenclaws..." Claire shook her head. "We're a decent lot on the whole, but too many of us just want to stay out of danger."

"Well now you have friends in Gryffindor," Harry said firmly.

Claire looked at him and smiled. "Who needs a godfather, when I have the famous Harry Potter as my friend? I'll just tell him to shove off then, will I?" Harry just smiled back at her.

"Right. If you have any problems with him, you let me know and I'll fix everything."

"Well, are you going to fix everything with Filch if she gets caught in the halls this late?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Bloody hell," Harry whispered as he looked at the time on his watch.

"Luckily, you have more powerful friends than Harry Potter," Ginny laughed. "Come on, Filch can't complain if you're being escorted by a Prefect."

The three of them walked quietly back toward the Ravenclaw common room. The halls were completely empty. Even Filch seemed to be absent.

"So, Harry," Claire said in a low voice as they turned into the hallway that lead to her common room. "We're friends now, are we?" Harry smiled and nodded. Claire stopped walking and looked into his eyes. "You didn't know me before tonight, right?"

Harry tried to act as if he wasn't worried by her question. "Well, no. I mean, I might have heard your name, but—"

"But you've never noticed that I even existed."

"I was going to say that we aren't in any of the same classes."

"That, too," Claire said with a small smile. "So what were you doing down by the library?" Harry stammered a little and tried to think up a quick excuse.

"You weren't looking for me, were you?" Claire turned to look at Ginny, whose face paled slightly. "She didn't seem all that surprised to see you."

"Well... she's Ron's sister, I was going to tell her about something... er... Snape! He's going to be in a foul mood tomorrow. You should tell your friends as well."

"Right," Claire said with a skeptical glare toward Harry. "Did you track down the rest of the Gryffindors, or is there some reason Ginny needed to know?"

"Well, like I said... she's Ron's sister, and—"

"Don't worry," Claire said with a laugh. "I won't be starting any rumors. It was just Ginny and I. Wouldn't want anyone to think she got special treatment, would we?"

"Er... no."

Harry felt a bit confused as he walked back to Gryffindor Tower with Ginny. It felt somewhat like playing chess with Ron. He'd been confident for a while, but now that it was over he was left feeling like he'd only been fooling himself.

"She's not what I expected," Harry said as they approached the Fat Lady. Ginny smiled back.

"I like her, too."

They walked through the portrait to a mostly empty common room. Ron and Hermione were still seated at a table, and each reading a book, though Ron looked less content about it. When they saw Harry and Ginny enter, Hermione sighed and sat back, while Ron jumped out of his chair to walk over to Harry.

"Well it's about time, Harry," he said as he shot a glance toward Ginny. "How many people saw her? Was it bad?"

"What _are_ you on about, Ronald?" Ginny asked.

"You! Getting friendly with all those little Ravenclaws. How much did you tell them about Quidditch strategies? We'll have to change them—"

"Ron!" Ginny shouted. "Come off it! I was just being friendly. Not everyone takes Quidditch that seriously. I guess you'll just have to get used to it, because it's not the last time it will happen."

With a huff, Ginny marched off toward the stairs to the girl's dormitories. Ron turned to clap Harry on the shoulder. "Thanks, mate. At least she listens to one of us. We'll just have to keep an eye out, in case she does try it again."

"Whatever you say, Ron."

* * *

Two days later, Harry and Hermione showed up after dinner to serve detention with Snape. The day had gone fairly well, and Harry was pleased at how well he was doing in Transfiguration. Harry had taken some time to demonstrate some of the next spells for Hermione, who seemed surprised to find that Harry was teaching her something for a change.

It hadn't taken more than a minute or so, and they still arrived in the Potions dungeon before the time Dumbledore had told Harry to be there. Snape, however, seemed to think they were late. Harry wondered if it would have been any different if they'd shown up that morning.

"You're late, Potter!" the Potions Professor snapped at them as they walked to the front of the room where Millicent was already seated and chopping away at a small pile of roots. They looked perfectly innocent but Millicent was wearing a pair of rough gloves on her hands as she chopped them.

"Something interesting there, Potter?" Snape said in a loud voice. Harry froze instinctively. "Where have you been this evening? Think quickly, Potter," Snape commanded, "I'm curious to hear what your excuse is this time."

"Excuse for what?" Harry asked.

"What have you been doing this evening, Potter?" Snape demanded. Harry's mind raced as he tried to remember everything he'd done since Transfiguration.

"I...er... I was in the common room until dinner, and after that I played a few games of Exploding Snap with Seamus. Then I walked down here."

Snape glared suspiciously at him. "You didn't leave the Tower before then? You'd swear to that in front of the Headmaster?"

"Yeah, I guess," Harry said. "Why?"

"Unless you're lying, it's none of your concern, Potter."

Harry was a little annoyed with the interrogation, but decided that it would probably be best if he didn't press the matter. Whatever Snape wanted to accuse him of, he hadn't done it. He had Hermione and a load of Gryffindors who would say they'd seen him in the common room.

Snape didn't ask any more questions, despite the flicker of anger in his eyes that told Harry his professor didn't believe him. Instead, he pulled out a pair of large, rough bags.

"Horn beetles and Wormwood bark. They need to be crushed and stripped." He handed the bags to them, adding, "I am sure Miss Granger can explain to you which action to perform on each bag." There was a brief flash of despair on Hermione's eyes as she looked in her bag. Harry looked in his and saw the large flat sections of bark, which meant Hermione must have the beetles. Her hand was much better, but the skin was still pink and tender. Crushing beetles wouldn't help at all. With a frown, he quickly switched bags with her and walked back to one of the tables.

They picked a table some distance from both Millicent and Snape. Harry quickly took out his mortar and added a handful of the beetles and started mercilessly pulverizing them. Next to him, Hermione started pulling apart the bark and placing the different parts in three different piles.

They worked away at their respective tasks. Every few minutes Snape would stroll past them, encouraging Millicent and finding some mistake to point out to Harry and Hermione. The piles of ingredients grew, and when Harry was half finished with his bag, Snape came by to unceremoniously empty the pile into a large glass jar. He similarly put the bark pieces into a set of wooden boxes, before turning silently to walk to where Millicent sat silently chopping roots.

"I think that's enough Miss Bullstrode," Snape said as he pushed the chopped roots into a clay jar and picked up the bag of unchopped roots. "You may leave. I trust that you'll show a bit more caution next time Miss Granger is being careless." Millicent nodded silently, and then turned and walked quickly out of the room, conspicuously avoiding Harry and Hermione.

Snape returned to his storage cabinets, putting the containers back on their shelves. With a scowl, he turned back to a large book on his desk. Harry ground away at his beetles. The large pile had been encouraging, and now he had to start a new one. As he powdered a few more handfuls of beetles, he watched Snape and waited for some sign that he wasn't paying attention to them anymore. Finally, Snape took out a quill and started scrawling away at some parchment. Harry took this as his sign.

"Why was she wearing gloves?" Harry whispered as he added more beetles to his bowl and continued crushing them.

Hermione frowned as she pulled apart a fresh chunk of bark. "I don't know, Harry," she whispered back, sounding annoyed. "She was probably afraid that I might find some way to pay her back."

"It'd only be what she deserves," Harry added. "I wouldn't be upset if—"

Harry was cut off by the sound of a very large book being slammed shut. Both of the Gryffindors looked up to see Snape standing at his desk, obviously seething with anger.

"What did you say, Potter?" he said through clenched teeth.

"Nothing, sir."

"I heard you," Snape sneered. "What would she deserve?" Snape walked out from behind his desk to stand in front of Harry and Hermione. Harry stared back into Snape's eyes and felt only disgust.

"I just meant that Millicent would feel more sorry if she had to go through everything Hermione had."

"And how exactly would you go about making that happen, Potter?"

"I wouldn't," Harry replied as he stared back at Snape, whose face was twitching in anger. Harry tried to think of what he might have said to make Snape so angry.

"He just said she'd feel more sorry if she did," Hermione added, trying to deflect some of Snape's anger.

It didn't work. Snape's anger boiled and flamed behind his eyes as he looked from Harry to Hermione. Harry backed away as he saw his professor's lips pulling back in a grimace. "You will tell me where you were this evening or I'll see that you never enter this classroom again."

Without even thinking, Harry told him again. This time he added that they'd stopped to try out some spells in an empty hallway. Surely Snape wouldn't care about that.

"You expect me to believe that you spent this evening doing absolutely nothing?"

"Well, I didn't say I hadn't done anything, did I? I was mostly relaxing and helping Ron and Hermione pick up the last spells we'd been taught—"

Harry was cut short as a frustrated growl escaped Snape's throat as his wand slashed out toward Harry. Before he realized what was happening, Snape was shouting his spell.

"_Legilimens!_"

As it struck Harry, his instincts seemed to take over. His emotions slipped away from him, leaving his mind empty and shut. As Snape held his wand on him, he saw brief flashes of a boy with messy black hair laughing. The spell ended abruptly, leaving Snape's hair scattered about his head and his mouth working silently in rage.

"What are you hiding, Potter? What were you working so hard to keep secret?"

"What were you looking for?" Harry shouted back, both annoyed and surprised by the sudden attack. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, but he felt oddly relaxed.

"I've seen it for years," Snape spat back. "Dumbledore would never admit it, but he must see it as well. Your resemblance to your father runs much deeper than your idiotic looking hair."

"You're not half the wizard my father was!" Harry shouted back. The moment he heard the words slip out of his mouth, he knew it was perhaps the worst thing to say at the time. A quick gasp from Hermione next to him signaled her agreement. Harry couldn't remember seeing Snape angrier than he was now.

"OUT!" Snape roared suddenly. "BOTH OF YOU, LEAVE NOW!"

Harry stood dumbfounded. Hermione, however, immediately pulled her bag and Harry's from nearby chairs and tugged Harry along after her. As she pulled Harry toward the door, Snape continued yelling at them.

"I don't want to even see you _near_ the Potions classroom this week, and if I _ever_ find that you've lied to me, I'll not rest until you both are EXPELLED!"

With one last heave, Hermione pulled Harry through the door and closed it tightly behind them.

"What do you suppose that was about?" Harry asked as they walked toward the stairs.

"I'm don't know either, Harry," Hermione said with a frown, "but I don't think that it was worth staying to find out. We're going to have to tell McGonagall about this, and it'll be much easier if we don't have to do it in the Hospital Wing." Harry wondered who she'd imagined would be in the Hospital Wing.

When they got back to the common room, they told Ron about it. He seemed less shocked than Harry had expected him to be.

"Well, we've always known that he gets a bit unhinged around Harry, haven't we? And while Harry might not have left the Tower, I did, and some of the second years said that he was howling about something that happened in the dungeons. He's probably had more supplies nicked from his cabinets."

That was news to Harry, and Hermione seemed just as surprised. It made sense, really. While he hadn't ever taken supplies from the Potions room, Hermione and Dobby had, and both of them had used them for something Harry had done. But unless there was some reason for Dobby to raid the Potions supplies he didn't know of, he'd had no part in it this time.

Hermione had dutifully pointed out that it could have easily been some other student trying to complete some work for some other class like Herbology. In the back of everyone's mind was the idea that perhaps, like Barty Crouch Jr, there was some impostor in the castle who had no other way of getting ingredients for whatever poison or potion he was brewing.

Part of him was certain that Hermione was right, and that some Ravenclaw had snuck in to get a bit of horseradish for a Quickened Growth Potion or some similar reason, but another part of him seemed just as certain that this was the first sign of Voldemort's new plan to get at him.

How easy would it be to poison his food? Or even to simply sneak into Gryffindor Tower and poison him in his sleep? Sirius had done it. And Nagini had snuck into the Department of Mysteries. Why couldn't someone else? He tried to explain this to Ron and Hermione, but Ron simply shook his head.

"It's a lot harder than it seems, mate," he said reassuringly. "The elves... Well, they don't let anyone tamper with the food, and they're pretty blindly devoted to Dumbledore, aren't they? If it were that easy to get into Gryffindor Tower, why wouldn't he have tried that a long time ago?" He clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Whatever it might be, you're safer here than you think, Harry."

* * *


	20. An Early Fall

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 20 - An Early Fall**

* * *

Harry and the rest of the students eventually settled into a routine and the time began to pass a little more quickly. Even the Advanced Potions classes seemed to fall into a pattern. Snape was routinely nasty to Harry and Hermione, Draco would scowl at them, Millicent avoided both of them, but they would both end up succeeding more often than they failed.

The rest of Harry's classes were going even better. Ron was beginning to get put off by the ease with which Harry was picking up the new charms they were learning. Even Hermione had been impressed on a few occasions.

Harry found the improvement a little disturbing. He remembered talking with Voldemort, and how he'd said that Harry was getting more powerful. Dumbledore had said something similar. He didn't know how getting a Splitting Charm to work on the first try would make him a threat to Voldemort, but at least no one was making fun of him when he would fail.

The worst part was that he now had even more classes with Draco Malfoy than he had last year. The only thing that made it bearable was the absence of Crabbe and Goyle. Rumor had it that they only received five O.W.L.s between the pair of them. Many students wondered how even that were possible.

The one class where Harry still had to deal with Crabbe, Goyle and Draco was Care of Magical Creatures, but it seemed that they took that opportunity to make up for all the time that they wouldn't get in the rest of their classes. Hagrid had mostly given up at trying to get them to stay quiet, and instead settled for keeping them busy, or keeping them in the back of the group.

They seemed to get worse and worse each week. Only the nasty looks from the Aurors about the grounds seemed to control them. That had worked until Hagrid had assigned the class to help relocate a large group of imps who had been living near the entrance to Hogwarts. In recent days they had taken to attacking the Aurors and Dumbledore had asked Hagrid to catch them and have them sent further into the Forbidden Forest. Catching the imps meant leaving the grounds, and once they left the grounds, the three Slytherins would turn on Harry almost immediately.

After three weeks of catching imps, Harry had stopped responding to Malfoy's insults and remarks. Malfoy had seemed to back off a little upon realizing this, but Harry knew he was only biding his time. He hadn't forgotten Malfoy's threat from his last year, and he was sure Malfoy hadn't either.

On the day they would be caging and feeding the imps for the last time before they were taken deeper into the forest, the students paired up and carried large wooden cages out to the clearing where the imps had been living in holes Hagrid had dug. Neville and Harry carried one cage, and walked with Ron and Hermione who were carrying another.

As they passed off the grounds, they noticed the pair of Aurors at the front gate scowling in their direction. Harry turned to see Malfoy along with Crabbe, Goyle and Nott carrying another pair of cages. They were walking faster than either pair of Gryffindors, and Harry was eager to let them pass.

Malfoy and Nott quickly walked past them, giving Harry only the briefest of glares. Crabbe and Goyle struggled on behind them, stumbling as they tried to keep up. Not more than thirty feet beyond them, Malfoy tripped over the root of a large oak tree and fell spectacularly, sending Nott sprawling, and their cage sailing quite a ways before crashing to the ground.

Harry and Neville laughed as they stopped nearby, gently lowering their cage to the ground. Malfoy's robes had ripped, and the cage was lying on its side. Several of the wooden pegs which were acting as bars had broken out of the lashings holding them in place.

"_Reparo!_" Malfoy shouted at the cage as he stood up. The pegs jumped back into position, but the lashings disappeared, making the cage fall to the ground and look more like an unlit campfire than a cage.

Ron and Hermione put their cage down next to Harry and Neville's. Hermione walked over to Malfoy's cage with a light smile on her face.

"_Reparo!_"

The cage leapt together and fresh lashings appeared around the joints. "That was brilliant!" Neville exclaimed. Malfoy obviously disagreed.

"I don't need help from a filthy Mudblood!" Malfoy shouted back at Hermione, but she was already walking away. "We shouldn't even be using these stupid things!" he shouted as he kicked the cage.

"If we don't use Charmwillow cages, the imps will be able to get out," Neville explained. He'd been the only one in the class to recognize the wood used for the cages. They were made from the branches of a tree which was unusually difficult to charm. It made them difficult to break with magic and almost impossible to levitate.

"Keep quiet, Longbottom," Malfoy snapped. "I meant we should just kill the lot of them."

"Well, that would be the '_Killing_ of Magical Creatures' and not 'Care' then, wouldn't it" Ron said coldly, "Then again, your father and his mate MacNair probably already taught you that. Maybe you should get your father to have MacNair chop that tree down for you as well."

"Careful, Ron," Harry said with a smirk. "He's a bit touchy about his father."

"Oh, right. He's still in prison, isn't he?"

Draco stalked toward Ron. "He won't be there for long. He's on the winning side. Unlike all of you."

"Then why did Voldemort leave him in prison?" Harry asked as he stepped toward Ron and Malfoy. Behind Ron, Hermione was slowly drawing her wand out of an inside pocket. She looked tense.

"None of your business, Potter," Draco said as he rounded on Harry instead of Ron. "At least he can fight. I heard Weasley here was left gibbering like an idiot, though I don't know how they could tell the difference. Longbottom couldn't have stunned a chair, and the Mudblood dropped as soon as the first hex hit her. Pathetic," spat Malfoy.

Crabbe, Goyle and Nott were walking over to stand behind Draco. Nott already had his wand out. Harry tried to reach for his, but he knew he'd never get it without everyone noticing. Draco stepped forward, right up to Harry's face.

"It's almost clever, really. It's about the only thing Mudbloods are good for. Every hex that hits her is one less you'd have to run away from. Too bad it wasn't even the Killing Curse, but I'm sure she'll have her chance again."

Ron was fuming now as well, and with a flash, Malfoy was flying backward into Crabbe and Goyle. Whatever hex Ron had used didn't have much effect on Malfoy. He jumped up and leveled his wand at Ron, but Hermione was faster.

"_Incarcerous!_" she shouted, and ropes shot out and wrapped around Malfoy. He fell helplessly to the ground. Nott stared at Malfoy in shock, then put his wand up and stepped back. Whether out of loyalty or stupidity, Crabbe and Goyle decided to fight back.

Goyle charged at Hermione and struck her with a club-like hand. She let out a shriek as she hit the ground. Ron and Harry both turned to run toward Goyle, but Harry only took a couple steps before Crabbe shoved his shoulder, spinning him away from the rest of the students.

Harry lost his footing as the world swirled around him. There was a large blur very close to him. He finally saw it at the last moment, but it was too late. Harry slammed into the trunk of the oak Malfoy had tripped over. There was a sickening crack and Harry felt pain slice through his left arm. He dropped to the ground.

As Harry cradled his broken arm, Crabbe stooped over him. "Black was your godfather, right? Well he was a traitor and he got what he deserved. You'll get worse when it's your turn."

"Back off, Crabbe!" Ron shouted. Crabbe turned and backed away. Harry looked over to see Neville with his wand at Goyle's throat as Hermione dusted off her robes. Ron had his wand on Crabbe.

"All three of you get to class, NOW!" Hermione commanded. "Neville, tell Hagrid what happened. Ron and I will take Harry to the Hospital Wing."

"Hey!" Malfoy yelled from the ground. "What about me?"

Hermione pointed her wand at him and said "_Difindo!_" The ropes split and Malfoy stumbled to his feet. With a scowl and a mumbled threat, he turned and followed Crabbe, Goyle and Nott.

"What happened here?" a voice called out from behind Harry. He twisted to see who it was, but stopped as a shot of pain ran up his arm.

"There was a... an accident," Hermione said. The voice had come from an Auror who'd run to see what the disturbance was. Hermione quickly explained a version of what had happened, trying to make it seem as unimportant as possible.

"And Potter broke his arm?" the Auror asked. "How bad is it?"

"Not too bad," Harry said he tried and failed to stand up.

"Bad enough, it seems," the Auror replied. "Longbottom, you can go tell Hagrid. I think Mr. Potter will be fine." Neville nodded and walked off briskly. The Auror turned to Ron and Hermione. "The two of you can get him to the castle?"

Ron and Hermione nodded and quickly hoisted Harry up and escorted him back to the castle. His arm was throbbing in pain, and the arm bent unnaturally near the wrist. Hermione didn't try mending it herself (which made Harry quite happy), but she did cast a quick Cheering Charm, which didn't relieve any of the pain, but made Harry quite happy that it hadn't.

Harry's stay in the Hospital Wing was much shorter than it had been the last time he'd broken his arm. But then, this time there were actually bones in his arm for Madam Pomfrey to heal.

As she had claimed, the bones were set and mended in only a few minutes, but she forced him to stay in a bed for half an hour after she'd forced him to down some of Bally's Break-Proof Bone Syrup. "Perhaps this might save you at least one trip back here. With bones like yours, you'd think those Muggles barely fed you," she'd said as mixed the viscous liquid into a cup of tea. Harry wanted to tell her how close to the truth she was, but decided to keep his mouth shut, or risk ending up spending yet another night in the Hospital Wing as Madam Pomfrey tried to make up for years of eating dry toast and leftover scraps.

When she finally let him out, it was time for supper. He made his way to the Great Hall to join his friends. Ginny looked quite relieved to see him there. Neville and Hermione just smiled and passed him a plate and a cup. Ron barely noticed he was there.

"Pomfrey let you out already, mate?" he asked between bits of steak and kidney pie. "Figured you'd be in there at least a couple days. Oh, and Neville said we actually managed to get Malfoy to keep quiet for an entire class." He took a quick drink of pumpkin juice. "I almost feel bad about missing it."

"Crabbe got detention, as well," Neville said as he offered some more juice to Ginny. "Too bad Hagrid got rid of all the skrewts."

Harry looked over to the Slytherin table. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were sitting together and not talking to the other Slytherins. Malfoy stared back at Harry with obvious hatred. Harry turned back to his food. He had dealt with Voldemort, the most evil wizard Hogwarts had known. Draco Malfoy couldn't be that bad.

* * *

Transfiguration class the next day was quite a bit less enjoyable than the previous weeks. McGonagall had heard what had happened the previous day, and it was more than obvious that she was disappointed in Harry, Ron and Hermione.

She didn't actually say anything, but Harry could tell. There was something stiff and cold about the way she acted around the three of them. Harry was more annoyed by it than either Ron or Hermione. What should he have done? Ron had been the first to attack, though he'd been completely justified in Harry's mind.

In the end, none of them had been punished. The Gryffindors said the Slytherins had started it, and the Slytherins said it had been the Gryffindors. The only person who'd actually been injured had been Harry, and only Crabbe had received any detention. He would be serving it tonight by helping Hagrid move the last of the imps.

However, it seemed apparent that McGonagall wasn't pleased. It had been yet another conference between her, Dumbledore and Professor Snape. Harry could easily imagine what she would've told them. He'd heard it before.

After leaving Transfiguration, Hermione barely said a thing, and Ron didn't seem to want to talk about much, so Harry just went about his day. It passed quicker than he'd expected, and after his last class he returned to the common room to try and read up on the next day's material for Potions.

Ron and Hermione had joined him, as usual, and Ginny, Colin and a pair of other fifth-years sat nearby practicing Charms. Harry found it nearly impossible to concentrate. It was as if his mind had simply shut down. It wasn't like his day had been that tiring. Transfiguration had been more stressful than usual, but it hadn't lasted all that long.

Defense Against the Dark Arts had been interesting. They'd been studying Shield Charms. The lesson ended up being rather chaotic. They'd put up shields to protect themselves from their partners. In practice, however, Harry had to keep re-casting the Shield Charm to protect himself from the curses ricocheting off everyone else's shields. When they were done, the room had looked like a disaster area.

Herbology had been a little less exciting. Harry tried to remember what exactly it was that they'd done, but his ability to concentrate was getting worse. He tried to remember what it had been. He thought he remembered something about one of the greenhouses. He remembered walking through the door and walking down the aisles of plants, but then it stopped.

"Er... Hermione, what did we do in Herbology today?" he finally asked.

"We collected Flamepine cones from the forest," she answered without looking up from her Arithmancy book.

"And then we brought them back to the greenhouses?"

Hermione looked up and blinked at Harry. "Flamepine cones? In the greenhouses? Are you feeling alright Harry?"

As soon as she mentioned it, he realized that he really wasn't feeling quite right. He felt a bit dizzy and suddenly exhausted. It didn't make sense. He remembered the greenhouses. He had walked into the greenhouse, then walked down the aisle. He'd been looking for something. There was something odd...

Harry's eyes flew open and he ran to the window. He tried to see the greenhouses, but he couldn't. He searched the grounds for any sign that something strange was happening.

"You're sure you're alright?" Hermione asked again.

"I'm fine," Harry replied dismissively.

"What's happening Harry?" Ginny asked. She was standing now too, and was already halfway to the window.

Harry turned to face her, and found that Ron and Hermione had stood up as well and were making their way to him also. "I... I—er—" Harry realized now that many other students in the room had turned to look at him.

"I forgot to return a book to the library. I've got to go." He pushed past his friends, grabbed his bag and walked out of the room as quickly as he could. He felt slightly guilty about lying to his friends, but he didn't have time to try and find a way to explain it to them privately. He had to find Dumbledore quickly.

As he ran to the Headmaster's office he could still see wisps and shadows of the interior of the greenhouse. It was like the other visions, and yet it was different. More importantly, Harry would have swore he'd seen the shape of another person walking through the doorway to the greenhouse.

Harry forced himself to run faster. It wasn't far to Dumbledore's office. He got to the gargoyles and shouted the password.

"Ton-tongue Taffies!"

Harry leapt onto the stairs and was forced to wait as the stairs rose, grinding lightly against the walls. He hesitantly closed his eyes. He had to know what was going on.

Against the black of his eyelids, he could see more clearly. Someone else was in the greenhouse. Harry couldn't tell who at the moment, but he was almost certain it was a student. The ride to the top of the stairway seemed to drag on forever as Harry watched a cloaked figure slowly walking toward the student.

Harry opened his eyes to see how close he was the the door to the office. It was still a good ten feet above him, and he would have swore the stairs were slowing down. He closed his eyes again, hoping to be able to find out as much as he could.

The vision was getting stronger. The cloaked figure was advancing quickly, but the student hadn't noticed them. Harry felt a chill as he saw the attackers wand slash out toward the student. He couldn't hear a thing, but image was enough to cause his heart to pound against his ribs.

A beam of light connected the wand and the student, and an instant later, the student fell limply to the ground. Harry's eyes flew open instinctively. He took a few deep breaths. It was just a stunner. There was no green flash. He would have recognized the Killing Curse immediately. He was quite close to the door now, but he needed to see what else was happening. He closed his eyes again and strained to make sense of the faint images in his mind.

The attacker was standing over the student now. Harry looked down and could hardly believe what he was seeing. It was Crabbe. His attacker simply raised his wand, and took aim at Crabbe's body. Another curse silently struck Crabbe, making his arm convulse limply. The pain in Harry's scar built until he had a hard time seeing through the stars in his vision. The attacker had raised his wand a third time. Harry cringed, preparing for the inevitable.

"Is there something I can help you with, Harry?"

Harry's eyes opened to see Dumbledore standing in the doorway in front of him. His hand had instinctively moved to his forehead where he was trying to massage the pain away from his scar.

"A student in the greenhouses..." Harry struggled to say. "They were attacked by..." By who? It couldn't have been Voldemort, could it? He'd seen it, but something had been off. If it was Voldemort, why hadn't he talked to Harry?

"Did you see who it was?" Dumbledore asked quickly. "Did you see who the student was?"

"It—It was Crabbe," Harry answered. He felt as confused about the answer as Dumbledore looked. "He was stunned and then—"

"Vincent Crabbe?"

Harry nodded and winced as his scar throbbed. When he looked up, Dumbledore was striding toward his desk. Without a word, Fawkes soared toward him. With a puff of smoke, the two of them disappeared, leaving Harry alone in Dumbledore's office.

Not knowing what to do, Harry decided to sit down in one of the soft chairs in the room. His scar was hurting less than it had a moment ago, and the pain seemed to be leaving faster than he'd expected but he wasn't sure if that was such a good sign.

"You there!"

Harry jumped as a voice called to him. He turned toward the source and saw only an empty room.

"You're Harry Potter?" the voice asked.

Harry scanned the room, and relaxed as he saw one of the Headmaster paintings awake and staring at him.

"That's right," Harry said slowly.

"I've a message for you from the Headmaster," the painting said formally. "You are to return to your common room immediately, and keep what you've seen to yourself until the Headmaster has spoken to you."

Harry did as he was told and endured the suspicious looks of his friends. He wanted to tell them, but he didn't want to disobey Dumbledore. At least, not yet. Something about the Headmaster's behavior had told him that there was some reason why Harry should keep this quiet for now. Of course, the whole purpose of the D.A. was to try and help protect the school. Shouldn't they know what happened?

He debated with himself for some time before being interrupted by dinner. He tried to ignore what he'd seen for the moment and tried to look forward to a nice meal. Secretly, however, he hoped that Dumbledore might make some announcement.

When they reached the Great Hall, Dumbledore was not there, nor were most of the professors. Only Professor Sinistra and Madam Pince were sitting at the head table, along with a number of Aurors. Madam Pince was talking and laughing with a pair of them. Harry pointed it out to Ron because it was one of the first times he'd ever seen her laughing.

The rest of the students ate and chatted just like any other night. A group of Ravenclaws made a bit of a scene when one of them knocked over a pair of pitchers while laughing uncontrollably at some joke. Some of the Hufflepuffs seemed to be crowding around Ernie as he showed some of the charms they'd been learning in Transfiguration. Everywhere he looked, Harry saw everyone acting normally.

They didn't know. Even the Slytherins were oblivious. They were all acting as if nothing had happened.

Had anything happened? Was that why Dumbledore told him to keep quiet? Was this some trick? The other visions hadn't been tricks. But then, this one had felt different. Foggier. Less real. And why would Voldemort attack Vincent Crabbe, the son of one of his own Death Eaters? It didn't make sense. Something strange was happening.

"Is everything alright, Harry?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm just...er... tired, I guess."

"Well rest up, mate. It looks like tomorrow is going to be a bad day for you."

"Why? I didn't do anything," Harry responded defensively.

"Of course you didn't, but that's never stopped Snape before, has it?"

Hermione put down her cup and stared at Ron. "What _are_ you two talking about?"

"Crabbe," Ron said with a nod toward the Slytherin table. "Looks like Hagrid's still got him serving detention, and Snape's just the type to take it out on Harry. You'll see," Ron took a quick drink of his juice. "I'd hope he wouldn't, you know. It's not like I want him to attack Harry, but... well, you might want to get a good night's rest."

Harry tried to act disappointed. He hadn't thought of looking for Crabbe. His absence was worrisome no matter how Harry took it. Hagrid wouldn't have kept Crabbe this long. It meant there was a better chance that what he'd seen was real, and yet that didn't seem like good news either.

Harry tried to push away his worries. There was nothing he could do about them now. When they got back to Gryffindor tower he could tell Ron, Hermione and Ginny about what he'd seen. They certainly wouldn't think he was losing his mind. He quietly finished eating and talked with Hermione and Ginny while they waited for Ron.

When he'd finished they walked casually out of the Great Hall and back toward Gryffindor Tower. At the foot of the stairs they saw Hannah and Ernie talking to Professor McGonagall. As they walked past, McGonagall seemed to watch them more intently than Harry was comfortable with. None of them commented on it, but they all gave Harry curious looks as they walked.

When they reached the portrait, Hermione gave the password. They all stopped short just inside the common room as they realized that Albus Dumbledore was sitting in front of the fire and playing a game of chess with a very confused second-year. When he saw them, his face broke into a warm smile.

"Miss Granger, Miss Weasley, I was hoping you would return. I have some information for Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley as well," he said as he directed one of his rooks across the board, ending the game.

"There was a most unfortunate accident in the greenhouses this afternoon. It seems that Vincent Crabbe tripped while walking too close to a number of rather irritable plants. The Aurors have made sure that it won't happen again. However, during our discussion, they suggested a unique opportunity they were willing to give the members of the Defense Association. I would need to discuss it with the Council first, of course. Miss Granger, Miss Weasley, if you would step outside for a moment."

Dumbledore led Ginny and Hermione outside the common room, leaving Harry and Ron to wait uncomfortably to find out whether they should be happy about whatever it was the girls were being told. They weren't forced to wait long before they returned and suggested they talk in the boys dormitory.

"So, what are we going to have to do now?" Ron asked reluctantly. "We're not going to have to clean, are we?"

"No, the Aurors want—"

"Wait!" Ginny barked, interrupting Hermione. She walked over to where Harry was sitting. "First I want to hear what really happened to Crabbe."

Hermione turned to stare as well. With a frown, Harry explained what he'd seen. After he told them everything he could remember, Ginny nodded to Hermione.

"The Aurors want to demonstrate the Imperius Curse to us," Hermione announced.

"We've already seen that," Ron said. "Remember? The spiders?"

"No. They're not going to show us," Hermione said slowly, "they're going to teach us how to fight it."

* * *


	21. Internal Conflicts

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 21 - Internal Conflicts**

* * *

Harry was interrupted from his dinner by gentle burst of warmth against his ribs. He instinctively reached for the inside pocket of his robes where the heat had come from. His fingers found the source: the D.A. Galleon.

"Again?" Ron groaned. "When is it now?"

Harry pulled the coin from his pocket and glanced at it briefly before returning it to its customary place. "We've got a little over forty minutes."

"Right. Until the time changes again," Ron said under his breath. He shook his head and reached for another chicken leg. "I still think this is another trick."

Ginny put down her spoon and stared at her brother. "And what, exactly, would Dumbledore need to trick us into doing?"

"That's what I want to know," Ron replied.

"Come off it, Ron," Ginny said to him. "No one is trying to trick us. They're just having trouble working with everyone's schedules. This meeting wasn't really planned."

"Right, it wasn't planned, and no one is supposed to know what it's about." Ron gave an annoyed snort. "Not to mention that we'd have to be mental to believe that Dumbledore would let the Aurors cast the—"

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "Shut up."

"Oh, sorry," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I forgot you actually believed him."

Ginny reached for juice, obviously avoiding eye contact with her brother. "And what's so hard to believe about it?" she asked quietly.

"Well, we've already done it, for starters," Ron whispered back, "and it's not like it's something we'd be able to practice, is it?"

"So you're not going, then?" Hermione asked.

Ron just scowled back at her. "'Course I am. You're going, aren't you Harry?"

Harry didn't look up from his food. "I guess. If it's true, it could be really important. Besides, I am the leader, aren't I?"

A half hour later, they stood outside the Room of Requirements, staring at the doorway. A number of the younger members were standing behind them waiting, it seemed, for some explanation for the older members hesitation.

"It's a trick. It's gotta be." Ron said with certainty.

"Dumbledore wasn't lying to us," Ginny said with equal assuredness.

"Doesn't really matter," Harry said flatly. "It's not like we can just walk back to Gryffindor Tower." Without looking to see Ron's reaction, he walked forward, opened the door and walked into the Room.

For a moment, Harry felt a pang of nervousness at seeing eight Aurors standing against one of the walls. He felt a little reassured once he saw the relaxed and almost eager faces of Cho, Ernie and Hannah. Luna was there as well, but as usual, she seemed more interested in the new chandeliers than the idea of being hexed by Aurors. Both Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini had made it (no doubt due in part to the subject), making the Gryffindors the last of the Council to show up.

They took seats across from the Aurors. Ron looked a little confused, but Harry was focusing on other things. His mind was troubled, as if there was something he should be noticing or understanding, but wasn't. When the designated meeting time came, he stood to address the group.

"I... er... I'm happy you all made it. Tonight... er, well..." Harry stumbled trying to think of what to say. He hadn't officially been told what was happening, but then, he didn't actually believe that Dumbledore didn't expect Hermione and Ginny to tell him. Of course, he didn't know if he wanted the Aurors to know that. Luckily, he didn't have to worry about it too long.

One of the Aurors stood forward, and spoke up. "Tonight, we have something very important to discuss," he announced. "My name is DeWitt, and you'll soon get to meet the rest of the group. Albus Dumbledore has given us permission to show you what the Imperius Curse is like, demonstrate its use, and let you practice resisting it."

There was a number of gasps from the students, and a few shocked looks thrown toward Harry or other members of the Council. It wasn't so surprising to Harry, yet he immediately grasped what he had been trying to think about earlier. Why did Dumbledore want to call a meeting for this?

Meanwhile, the Auror was starting to pace in front of the students as he spoke. "As you should all know, the Imperius Curse is one of the Unforgivable Curses, and its use is enough to send any of you to Azkaban for the rest of your life. As Aurors, we have been given permission to use any curse, even the Imperius Curse, in capturing other wizards. Only a few of us have ever resorted to such measures. Tonight, only _we_ will be using the curse, and I must stress that there will be no leniency given to any students attempting to cast the Imperius Curse themselves."

"The curse itself is fairly simple. It allows a wizard to control another person, wizard or Muggle, by forcing their will upon the victim. Under the Imperius Curse, wizards have handed over all of their property, told all order of secrets, and attacked their friends and family."

Harry tried to listen to him, but his mind kept returning to the same question. This had to be some reason behind this. Harry could only think of one explanation: Crabbe. Did Dumbledore think that Death Eaters had used the Imperius Curse on a student to attack Crabbe? That didn't answer why Crabbe had been attacked, and no matter how much they were taught about the curse, it wouldn't stop Voldemort from using any other student.

"Pay attention, Harry," Hermione quietly scolded him. Harry forced himself to listen to the Aurors, who were now trying to explain some sort of demonstration.

"Few wizards have been able to fully resist a properly cast Imperius Curse. Your Headmaster has told us that one of you claims to have accomplished this."

"Harry has," Ron almost shouted. "We all saw him."

"Yes, I'm sure you did," answered DeWitt, "but there is some doubt as to how well the... professor managed to cast the spell."

"I did it a second time."

DeWitt stared at Harry with some suspicion. "Did you? And who cast the curse that time?"

"Voldemort," replied Harry.

The Auror seemed surprised by that bit of news, and looked to the other Aurors. They returned a mixture of shrugs and slow nods. The head Auror turned back to look at Harry. "I see. Then you will perhaps be able to display this for all of us. First, however, I think you should all have the chance to feel just what the Imperius Curse is like. I know that some of you have already experienced this, and that should only make it easier to resist."

The Aurors broke up the D.A. into small groups and started casting the Imperius Curse on them. It immediately reminded Harry of the class with the Barty Crouch in his fourth year. All around the classroom, students were starting to hop on one foot.

Ron and Harry watched with fascination at the vacant look on Hermione's face as she started hopping. Ginny was next. She was hopping slower, but with the same empty, carefree look Hermione had. Soon Ron had joined them, and finally it was Harry's turn.

"No use fighting it right now, Potter," the Auror said. He seemed a decent enough wizard, and had told them to call him Blackhill. "No one will even notice. Probably best to just get used to the feeling again."

With some trepidation, Harry resigned himself to try not to fight it. Still, the desire for him to stand on one leg felt odd and out of place. The compulsion to do as the Auror said was weaker than he'd expected and he was forced to try and ignore his own will. Soon, he was hopping like all the rest of them.

Almost as soon as Harry started, the Aurors started carefully removing the curse from everyone. When Harry and the last of the members were back to normal, DeWitt began speaking to them gain.

"Now you've felt what it's like to be under the Imperius Curse. It seems different people feel its affects different ways. Some feel as if they are being pulled about, some hear voices, and some know only an empty oblivion while they do their master's will." The Auror stooped to look at one of the fourth years. "What was it like for you?"

The boy looked a little embarrassed. "It was like I was dreaming, sir, but all I did was hop on one leg."

"Excellent," DeWitt said with a smile. "Yes, that's a common feeling. A good sign, too. Shows you recognize something's happening to you." He turned and stared at a fifth-year Ravenclaw. "How about you?"

"I— I was just in an empty room..."

"Ahh," he said, "and there is where the problem is. Now, don't feel bad. Loads of much older and more powerful wizards fare no better. While you pictured yourself in that empty room, who knows what you might have been doing out in the real world. It's a hard thing to fight if you don't realize you even should." DeWitt paused for a moment as he scanned the room. Everywhere, students were looking at each other and whispering.

"It was a bit different than last time," Ron was whispering. "When that impostor did it, it felt so... humiliating. This time it just felt like something heavy was pulling my arms and legs to do what he said. Ginny looked about the same."

"It... It was... odd," Ginny said quietly. "Uncomfortable. It felt like... I couldn't fight it. It was too strong."

"Well, don't feel too bad. He got Harry, too."

"He told me not to fight it," Harry mumbled.

"Oh, right. I suppose that might make sense," Ron said dejectedly. "What about you Hermione?"

Hermione jumped a little and looked away immediately. "I—er... I think we should pay attention to Mr. DeWitt."

"I think he wanted us to discuss it," Ginny said with a glance to the Auror. He was still silently watching the students. "Is something wrong, Hermione? What did you feel?"

"I... I..." Hermione fumbled, "I felt... warm, I guess. And... er..."

"Mr. Potter," DeWitt called out. "Would you tell us how the Imperius Curse affects you?"

Harry peeled his eyes from Hermione and found everyone else watching him. "I... er... I hear voices," he said reluctantly. As Ron explained to him long ago, hearing voices was never a good thing.

"Good!" the Auror said with a smile. "And the voices, you can put them out of your mind, can you?"

"Well, yes, I suppose..." Harry answered, "but they tell me I don't have to do whatever I'm being told."

DeWitt stared intently at him. "Do they?" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Perhaps it's time to move on in the lesson. Mr. Potter, come here if you would."

Harry stood up and walked over to where the greying Auror stood. He felt a little more exposed than he normally liked. Everyone in the room was staring at him, even the Aurors.

"I am going to cast the Imperius Curse on you, and order you to do something. It won't be dangerous or painful, but I want you to try and resist." Harry nodded weakly. "Very well. Now the rest of you, I want you to watch. This isn't a thing easily learned, and watching Potter here won't be enough to teach you how, but some things are easier once we know that they are simply possible."

Before he even realized what had happened, Harry felt a sudden light, peacefulness washing over him. All of his worries seemed to fall away, and he didn't feel as tired as he had. The world felt calm and relaxed. There were no essays, or exams, or meetings. He could just stand here, take off his shoes and sleep.

Come to think of it, he didn't really even need to take off his shoes. He'd slept with them on many times before, but they didn't feel as comfortable as they had been. He might as well take them off.

_But why?_ said a small voice in the back of his head.

It really didn't matter did it? They were just shoes. He could put them back on, again.

The urge to take them off got stronger, more insistent. Harry felt a slight warmth in his chest. Why had he wanted to take off his shoes? He was supposed to be doing something important. He was in a meeting of some sort. It didn't feel right.

Harry felt the warmth grow to his back and stomach. Why was he kneeling? When had that happened? With a jolt, he realized that he was already reaching for his shoe.

_Leave them on,_ the voice said. _There's no reason to take them off._

Slowly, Harry straightened. The room looked just a little dimmer than before, but he knew where he was. The Auror DeWitt was standing near him, aiming his wand right at Harry's chest. His mouth was moving, but Harry heard his words echoing in his head.

"Take off your shoes, Potter."

_No,_ the voice inside him responded, and a second later, Harry heard his voice in his own ears.

"No."

It was loud and definite. A moment later, he felt the world sharpen as all of his thoughts returned to him, as well as all of his worries and problems. His back and stomach felt like he'd just walked a mile with his trunk, and he faltered as his exhaustion returned a second later.

"Brilliant, Mr. Potter," DeWitt cheered. "A truly inspiring demonstration."

"He doesn't look so good," Katie commented from the back of the group. "Is it supposed to hurt?"

"It can," DeWitt said a nod. "As you've felt, the curse itself has a tendency to make you feel comfortable. Fighting the curse means refusing that comfort. The first step to fighting it is recognizing it for what it is. Now break up into small groups and you can all have a go."

This round was barely any different than the first, except that its result was a group of students without shoes instead of students with one tired leg. Harry had been mercifully left out of this round. He wasn't sure how well he could fight another one so soon after the first.

This time, Ron seemed almost able to fight it. He seemed to fumble with his laces for quite some time. Ginny's shoes didn't have laces, and it hadn't taken her long to slip them off. Neville and Luna had both slowly untied their shoes, and only seemed to hesitate as they pulled them off their feet. More surprising than any of them was Hermione. She'd deftly untied and tossed aside her shoes before anyone else had finished untying theirs.

No one else had been able to see it other than Harry and Blackhill, and he gave Harry a confused glance as Hermione sat down happily by her shoes. When everyone was returned to their normal selves, Hermione's expression became even more troubled than it had been. Somehow, she'd guessed what had happened.

None of the other student were nearly as tired as Harry was after resisting the curse one time, so they continued to try again. The Aurors moved to different groups, and Harry allowed the new Auror (a witch named McKinnon) to try and force him to juggle.

It was getting easier it seemed, and many other students were starting to feel the same way. None of them had succeeded in completely ignoring the demand as Harry had, but Ron had succeeded in actually tossing one of the balls across the room, against McKinnon's orders. Ginny had more trouble, and Harry kept Hermione's progress to himself.

"Alright!" DeWitt shouted over the group. "It's time for some real practice." There were several groans from the students, since many of them had started to learn to fight the curse and were starting to feel the results of the effort needed. All of the Aurors walked to the wall near DeWitt and pulled a chair off a nearby stack. They each set the chair on the floor and stood rigidly behind it.

"It's one thing to be able to foil an attempt at juggling, and perhaps that is all that will be needed, but it's somewhat harder to impose your will over the will of your attacker. May I have a volunteer?"

With a shrug, Ernie MacMillan stepped forward. "This isn't going to hurt, is it?" he asked quietly.

"It shouldn't, though I don't expect you'll enjoy it either," DeWitt said a faint smile. "You see that chair in front of McKinnon? I want you to protect that chair as if it were your best mate. Can you do that? You can make sure no harm comes to it?"

"I can try," Ernie said suspiciously. "Who am I protecting it from?"

The Auror's face broke into a wide grin. "From yourself, of course. Whenever you're ready, just draw your wand." Ernie looked back at some of the other Hufflepuffs before taking a deep breath and facing McKinnon and the chair in front of her. With a quick motion he pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at McKinnon.

"_Imperio!_" she shouted. Ernie had barely finished aiming his wand when it paused and wavered for a moment. Slowly the wand dipped.

"_Incendio!_"

The students watched in surprise as the spell hit the chair and it burst into flames. With a flurry, McKinnon ended the curse, and stepped away from the chair.

DeWitt walked over to the chair, and with a wave of his wand, the fires squelched and died, leaving only a charred, smoking chair. "Now, perhaps, you all understand the seriousness of the lesson. Tell me, do you think it would have mattered if this truly had been a friend of yours?"

All of the color seemed to drain from Ernie's face as he slowly sat back down. The room was suddenly quiet, as the students looked at each other. Harry felt tense and uncomfortable. The lesson had almost been fun until then. Some of the third years looked positively frightened.

"Understand this," DeWitt said solemnly, "the Imperius Curse isn't used to make wizards sell books at cut rates or provide fun party tricks. It's used to make wizards do horrible things, things that no threats and no amount of wealth would ever convince someone to do." He paused to let everyone understand. "Now... Should I continue the lesson? Yes? Then let's queue up behind the chairs. We've got plenty."

The lesson continued with a much more serious tone. Harry took a place behind Katie, and Ron and Hermione stood behind him. Ginny was standing in the front of the next queue over, with Neville standing nervously behind her.

"Wands ready!" DeWitt called out. A second later there was a chorus of curses. Harry watched as every last student inevitably turned their wand on the chair in front of them and hexed them. Some had been quite a bit quicker than others. It had been a good thirty seconds before Katie had finally sent her chair tumbling to the ground with a Severing Charm. She looked quite disappointed in herself. Ginny had held out for some time, but she looked visibly shaken by the experience.

Harry was next. It wasn't any different than any other time, he tried to tell himself. This couldn't be harder than defying Lord Voldemort. He held his wand tightly and waited. Though he'd been expecting it, the light, relaxed feeling surprised him. Through the sensations of comfort, he felt something calling him to destroy the chair. A Reductor Curse, it told him. Just destroy the chair and everything will be alright.

_No,_ a familiar voice told him. _You don't have to._

The urge to attack the wooden chair was irrationally strong. It was just a chair. There was no harm in destroying it. Harry's arm extended to point his wand at the chair.

"_Incarcerous!_" he shouted, and a long thin rope shot out from his wand. It snaked around the Auror in front of him, binding the wizards wand against his chest before he toppled to the ground. Harry felt the fog retreating and the aches and exhaustion he lived with slowly returning.

He'd done it.

_CRACK!_

Harry's eyes flew open in time to see the chair in front of him splintering into a hundred pieces and scattering across half the room. His Auror was lying on the ground. What had happened? Holding his wand loosely in his hand, he turned to look at Ron. Ron said nothing just shook his head and nodded to Harry's right.

"Sorry, Harry," Neville said heavily, "I almost got it."

After a quick explanation, Harry relaxed. Neville had succeeded in saving his chair, at the expense of Harry's. Technically, Harry had failed, and yet DeWitt and the rest of the Aurors were pleased with both him and Neville. Harry watched from the side as Ron managed to almost avoid destroying his as well.

"I'd say I did pretty well, considering," Ron argued. "The chair is perfectly fine, really. Well, it would've been if they could've caught it."

Hermione, however, did much worse. Her chair practically exploded into a thousand pieces and she had turned and walked away before anyone else. The frustration was evident on her face. At least, it was evident to everyone but Ron.

"Wow, Hermione. That was impressive. You did that with a single hex? I've never seen anyone do that before." Hermione paused to narrow her eyes and scowl at him before stomping off to the back of the room. Ron looked a little upset. "I... What did I say?"

Harry turned to look at his friend. "I think you just told her that we couldn't have done any worse than her if we'd tried." Ron's mouth dropped open. With a frown, Harry gave him a pat on the back. "Why don't you stay here and watch."

Hermione wasn't terribly hard to find. She was just where Harry would have expected her. In one of the far corners of the room was a small group of bookcases which always seemed to hold a number of useful and topical books. Hermione was now standing in front of one of them scanning through books. Several were already scattered at her feet.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as Hermione carelessly tossed another book to the floor.

"I'm _fine_," she snapped. "Why would you think I'm not?"

"He didn't mean it like that, Hermione."

"Oh, this isn't about what Ronald thinks," she answered as she viciously slammed another book shut. "This is about turning a chair into matchsticks without even realizing I was holding my wand."

"Oh," Harry replied. "It's not supposed to be easy. Maybe you just need a bit more practice?"

"That's brilliant, Harry. That's so helpful," she answered acidly. "Are you here to help?" Harry nodded weakly. "Then either start explaining or start looking through books." Hermione shoved a stack of books into Harry's hands. "Or leave," she added in a lower voice.

Harry started scanning the spines of the books for something that might sound helpful. "I don't really understand how I do it," he explained. "It just sort of happened the first time, and it's been getting easier since then."

"Well, we don't all have your talent, do we? Of course, it isn't all _your_ talent, is it?"

The books were temporarily forgotten as Harry paused to stare at Hermione. She couldn't know about what Dumbledore had told him on his birthday. Almost absentmindedly, Harry passed her one of the books.

Her lips tightened immediately upon seeing it. "Very helpful." Hermione tossed it down near Harry's feet and rubbed her eyes. "Look... I'm sorry. I just need... I need something to work from. I didn't mean to bring it up. It's not like your visions really help you with this. Just go. I'll be fine."

Harry nodded, but didn't really understand what she'd been saying. He'd been too focused on the fact that she really didn't know about anything other than the visions. As he turned to walk away, he looked down at the book he'd handed her. The title was clearly visible: _Enfeeblement and Other Mental Weaknesses_. He cringed to himself and decided it was time to return to the rest of the students.

"Books again, eh?" Ron said when Harry walked up to him. "Did she find anything useful?"

"Doesn't look like it," Harry said quietly. "She's a bit touchy about the whole subject though. I, er... I'd avoid it if I were you."

"Right. Thanks, mate."

In the front of the room, the last round of students was just destroying their chairs. When they finished, the Aurors started giving second tries to anyone who wished to have extra practice. Nearly everyone did. Hermione did not, and had opted to remain in the corner furiously reading through a stack of books.

Nearly twenty minutes later, a respectable number of students had become good enough to consistently save their chair from destruction, even if none of them were able to completely shake off the curse.

"There is one last test," DeWitt announced as he banished a pile of broken seats and chair legs to the corner. "You've all had some practice. Let's try this one more time. We'll need everyone to return to their queues."

There was a bit of confusion as everyone tried to find their original places. When everyone was in place, including Hermione behind Ron, the Aurors brought out another round of chairs.

"If I could, I'd like to have the last students come up and sit in the chairs. Come along, now. Don't be silly, we won't be using any dangerous curses." It was frightfully obvious what the final test would be. Harry turned to look at whoever was tapping him on the shoulder.

"Er, Harry," Ron said in a high pitched voice, "if I... Well, if something happens and you—"

"I'm not going to blame you, Ron," Harry said with a smile. "Just don't turn me into a mushroom."

The first round started, with Katie facing a rather worried looking Seamus. The result was quite a bit more encouraging than Harry had expected. A few of the students had failed completely, stunning their friends in the chairs. Ginny had hit Denis Creevey with what looked to be a Stunner, but it seemed to only make him slightly dizzy. Katie had missed Seamus completely.

"Some of you might find it a bit easier to resist when you can see and understand what you're really being forced to do," DeWitt explained. "For those of you who still don't realize what you're doing, this will be a powerful motivation to fight harder."

It was Harry's turn next, and Katie's turn in Seamus' place, but she looked much more confident than he had. Ginny seemed fairly comfortable, but she seemed to be paying more attention to Harry than Neville. When the Curse hit him, he stood very still, and simply refused to move. After a short time, he simply turned his back on the Auror, and felt the curse break. Katie was smiling brightly.

Ginny had faired equally well. Neville had managed to drop his wand, and though he wondered whether it was done willfully or on accident, Harry was happy that Ginny hadn't been hit. Harry braced himself for the worst when it was Ron's turn, but was relieved when the Aurors revived him. He didn't feel all that bad. Ron's stunner had been fairly weak.

Hermione looked pale as she stood in front of Ron, and Ron didn't look much better. Harry and Ginny stood against the wall watching impatiently.

"I don't know why she's having so much trouble," Ginny whispered. "She never has this much trouble with spells."

"She's not casting this one," Harry whispered back. They waited as the last of the students of the previous round stood and walked off shakily. Harry realized he was much more nervous for this than he had been when it was his turn.

"_Imperio!_"

After a few seconds, Hermione's arm rose quickly and mechanically. Once there, it paused and hesitated. Harry saw a brief flurry of twitches in Hermione's eyes, and then they glazed over as he hand tightened on her wand. Ginny had seen it to, and Harry heard the defeat in her voice.

"Oh no..."

"_Stupefy!_"

A powerful jet of light flashed from Hermione's wand to Ron's chest. He twitched, then fell limply to the ground. When it was over, the Auror removed the curse, and Hermione silently took her seat on the chair. Her face seemed slack and almost sickly with glassy, emotionless eyes.

Rubbing his shoulder gingerly, Ron walked back to where Harry was standing. "Well, it was bound to happen," he said quietly.

"What's that?"

"We finally found something that Neville can do better than Hermione." Harry glared at Ron, and Ron glared back defensively. "I'm not going to tell her that. I'm not that bloody daft."

Hermione eventually joined them and watched the rest of the students in silence. After his previous conversation, Harry didn't really think it was wise to try and strike up any conversation. Ron kept similarly quiet, and Hermione seemed perfectly satisfied with that. When the last of the students finished, a number of Aurors slipped out the door quietly while the rest stood patiently behind DeWitt.

"This was not a skill we had expected you to master," he announced to the D.A. "It was intended as a demonstration, and introduction. I'm afraid we really must end it here, and I warn you not to try this on your own. The Wizengamot will not ignore the use of an Unforgivable Curse simply because you wished to practice. If the opportunity arises, we may return for a second lesson."

Without saying anything more, the Aurors turned and filed out of the room, leaving everyone staring at Harry as if he was supposed to say something.

"I guess we're done," he said weakly.

* * *

"Why do we have to fix the chairs and put them back?" Ron asked as he pushed a stack against the wall. "Can't we just leave and come back next meeting hoping for a room without a bloody big pile of chair bits?"

"Because... Well, I'm not— _Reparo!_" Hermione said as the broken legs and back of a nearby chair fused back together. "I don't know Ron, but we should."

Nearby, a number of students were talking about that night's meeting. It had been tiring for Harry and yet he at least was able to feel satisfied with his performance. A number of students, including Hermione, were left noticeably disappointed with themselves, despite any words the Aurors might have said.

"My uncle is an Auror," one of them said as he pulled his bag out of a pile of other bags and things along one of the walls. "They don't even do that until their last year. It's no surprise we had so much trouble with it."

"If it's that advanced, why did they even try? I mean, it was... interesting, but how many of us were even able to stop any of them? Twelve?" the girl asked. "Only Harry was able to break it, so what was the point?"

"Isn't it obvious," Luna said from the floor where she was carefully reassembling the leg of a chair.

Ron rolled his eyes. "This'll be rich."

Luna ignored him. "It's because of Crabbe," she announced lightly. Harry stopped what he was doing to listen to her. "Crabbe was sent to the Hospital Wing and an hour later Dumbledore tells us that the Aurors just happened to decide to try and teach us to fight the Imperius Curse?"

"What does that mean?" Ron asked. He was slowly inching away from the dwindling pile of broken chairs. "Are you trying to say that Dumbledore thinks someone is going to use it to get revenge on one of us?"

"Well, that's a brilliant idea as well," Luna answered with a smile, "but I would guess that the Aurors think someone used it to make one of us attack Crabbe."

Justin Finch-Fletchley snorted. "Like we'd need to be under the Imperius to do that. Still, it is a bit surprising. I thought Dumbledore would've been telling them more. He seemed pretty friendly with the Head Auror."

Ron gave Justin an odd look. "What more was there to tell?"

Justin's eyes flashed over to Harry, and a small smile spread across his face before he caught himself and adopted a more serious expression. "No one seems to know just what happened to Crabbe."

"Dumbledore said some plants attacked him. It's not that hard to believe, really. I've heard stories about how dreadful he is in Herbology." Luna commented.

A Hufflepuff joined the conversation. "But there weren't any poisonous plants in that greenhouse. Why was he in the Hospital Wing so long? The worst he could have had was some nasty burns."

"Pomfrey probably thought he'd been Confunded or something." Seamus replied. "Maybe she didn't know that he was just naturally that stupid."

"That's not what he said," one of the younger Ravenclaws disagreed.

"Well, you can't really trust Crabbe to know just how stupid he is, can you? Imagine a Confunded Crabbe," Seamus laughed. "How would you know if you'd actually removed the charm?"

"It wasn't that," Justin Finch-Fletchley said. "I saw him on the way to the Hospital that day. He'd only broken his arm."

"A broken arm?" Hermione asked. With only Ron helping her, she'd given up on repairing the last of the chairs. "It wouldn't take Madam Pomfrey three days to mend a broken arm. She fixed Harry right up in an hour."

"Yeah, funny thing, that," Justin said with smile. "Seems he broke his left arm. His lower arm, to be specific. Right in the middle. Said he was tripped up by a plant in the greenhouses, but those floors are enchanted to keep the plants well clear."

"So he tripped over a rock or something and was embarrassed," Ron said lazily as he pushed the last stack of repaired chairs against the wall.

"That's not what Pomfrey said. That was the other thing. I was going out to find Professor Sprout and Pomfrey was already out there." He turned to look at Harry. "She said someone told Dumbledore that Crabbe was hurt. She sent me to find an Auror. His arm was magically broken."

People around the room were murmuring, sharing rumors and making accusations before Hermione silenced them all. "Calm down. If anyone had snuck onto the grounds _we_ would have heard about it. That's what we're here for."

"What if they didn't sneak in? What if they were already here?" Justin said with a smile.

"So you're agreeing with Luna?"

"Maybe not. Whoever did it might not have been under the Imperius Curse. They might have wanted to do it. Maybe they thought he deserved it. They'd be right, in my opinion." Hermione looked outraged. "Think about it, Hermione. Someone knew Crabbe had been hurt before everyone else. Who else would know that but the person who did it? And they told Dumbledore. How many people can just pop in and talk to Dumbledore?"

Hermione immediately turned to look at Harry, then jerked her head away to stare at the wall opposite Harry. Harry just frowned and nodded,

"I knew it happened. I told Dumbledore."

"What? How did you know?" asked a third year Hufflepuff.

How could he explain this without scaring everyone? _I have visions of all the horrible things Voldemort does_ just didn't seem all that comforting. "Well... sometimes when I doze off I have dreams that tell me what Voldemort is doing." That should be good enough.

"Dreams? Like in Divination?" Parvati asked. Harry shook his head, "No, I don't see the future. Just things that are happening at the time." She seemed a little disappointed. Ernie, however, looked frightened.

"So... _he_ was here?"

"No. I think we'd all know if he came to Hogwarts," Harry added solemnly. "I didn't even know what I was seeing. I just knew that someone had attacked him. But it wasn't me, if that's what you meant."

"You didn't do it?" Justin said skeptically. "He broke your arm, and the next day his own arm is broken. Same arm. Same place. Except that his is magically broken, leaving a nasty mark that—"

"A mark?" Harry interrupted. "What kind of mark?"

"Oh right, you wouldn't know about that, since you didn't do it."

"I didn't!" Harry protested.

Justin crossed his arms in front of his chest and spoke clearly so everyone could here. "Right where is arm had broken, there was this long ugly scar shaped like a lightning bolt. You don't know anything about that?"

"No!" Harry almost shouted. Justin obviously didn't believe him and gave Harry a smirk. Harry didn't know what was so amusing. Was it true? Could it have anything to do with the marks left from the four attacks during the holidays? Who else knew about the other attacks and the marks left behind? A quick look at Ginny, Ron, and Hermione let Harry know they had began to wonder the same thing. Harry tried to find a way to explain it without sounding like he was losing his mind.

"Maybe it was some Death Eater who managed to sneak past the Aurors. Voldemort's been trying—"

"Right. Voldemort and the Death Eaters," Justin laughed again. Some of the other members had laughed as well. They seemed to know what Justin was getting at. Hermione had seemed to as well, but she wasn't laughing.

"What are you saying, Justin?" she asked.

"It doesn't make sense, Hermione. Crabbe is the son of a Death Eater. We all know that. Why would— _he_ attack him? What did Crabbe do to upset him? I'd think he'd give Crabbe a sack of Galleons for breaking Harry's arm. Or are we supposed to think that he's jealous?" This caused even more laughter. "Come on, Harry. How would a Death Eater get past the Aurors? And the wards? And escape after being seen only by you?"

"I don't know!" Harry shouted in frustration. He honestly didn't. The vision really hadn't been like the others. It was faint, even more faint than the vision he'd gotten when he was awake, and he'd barely been able to see anything.

"It's not like I feel sorry for Crabbe. The git deserved it. I'm not going to tell anyone if you did it."

"I DIDN'T DO IT! I DON'T KNOW WHO DID!"

"Fine," Justin said as the smile on his face disappeared. "I thought you could at least be honest with us. That's the whole point of the Council isn't it? So we can trust each other?" Justing started walking away, then turned and faced Harry again. "Pomfrey told me not to tell _anyone_ about what I saw and heard, but I told you. I guess we see how it works, don't we?" He stomped off toward the door and opened it.

As he paused in the doorway he looked back at Harry. "I suppose it's not surprising. He has the Death Eaters, and you have us. Not so much of a difference, is there?"

The sound of the door slamming echoed through the large, and completely silent room. Everyone was looking at Harry, who was still staring at the door looking perplexed.

"Well... er... We're done here. Everyone clear out," Ron commanded.

As the students filed out of the door, Harry paced about the room. Some of the older students made no move toward the door. They apparently wanted to stay and hear if Harry had anything more to say. He finally stopped pacing and sat down on one of the chairs.

"Ron, Hermione, and, er.. Ginny, can you stick around for a bit? The rest of you can go." Some of the people left, but a few remained, including all of the Council members. "This isn't a Council meeting. Take off."

"Is it true, Harry?"

It was Cho. She was standing against the wall by the door. Harry's anger flared immediately. "Yes! I had nothing to—"

"I believe you," she interrupted. "That's not what I meant. Are we your Death Eaters?"

"How _dare_ you!" Ginny shouted as she strode toward Cho. "You didn't have any problem with it last year! You were the one who wanted him to lead us without asking anyone else! You were going out with him, and he _liked_ you, but you just wanted someone to cry with!" Ginny was right in front of Cho now. "And now you're accusing Harry of being like... Voldemort! You didn't deserve him—"

"GINNY!" Harry shouted, finally making her pause. At the very least, Ginny had succeeded in taking the attention away from Harry, but she backed away after she realized what she'd done.

"Harry, I— I'm sorry." Cho was looking at her as if she might be able to read some explanation for the outburst across Ginny's reddening face. Cho looked to Harry, and when she looked back to Ginny, her eyes were filled with curiosity instead of confusion. She weakly pointed a finger toward Ginny as her mouth opened to say something.

"Fine," Harry said before Cho could say anything, "if you want to hear what I've got to say, then stay. I'm not going to answer questions if you haven't any idea what we're talking about and no one is to say _anything_—" he looked directly at Cho "—about what happened here until we decide to tell everyone."

Everyone quietly nodded, even Cho Chang.

Harry sighed and relaxed in his chair. "Voldemort ordered someone to attack Crabbe. I'm almost certain of it. It couldn't have been him. We'd have known if Voldemort was here. The vision was weak, as if I was watching through a foggy mirror and I only got glimpses of what was happening."

"Maybe you still see things if Voldemort had the person who did it under the Imperius Curse?" Hermione offered.

"That would explain how they got past the wards," Ron added, "but it would also mean that either they are still here, and that they were probably nearby when Justin was there."

"Unless it was Justin," Cho said from across the room. "If he were under the Imperius Curse, he could have done it and been there to meet Pomfrey."

Ginny was shaking her head, though. "No, Justin was telling the truth, I'm—" She cut herself off abruptly. "He was telling the truth."

"How do you—" Daphne Greengrass started to ask, but was cut off by a number of glares.

"Couldn't have been Pomfrey, either," Hannah said, "She wouldn't have had time to do it and then get back to the Hospital Wing in time to meet with Dumbledore. Whoever it was, they're probably still around."

"Or they took a Portkey out," Harry said in a low voice. "We just don't know." He stood up and started pacing again. "It doesn't really matter. It could be anyone, really. We don't even know why he was attacked."

"What if he wasn't supposed to be attacked," Hermione suggested. "Maybe someone was trying to do something in the greenhouses and was interrupted by him?" Ron gave a snort.

"And they just happened to decide to break his arm exactly the same way Harry broke his? And give him a nasty scar?" Ron said incredulously.

"He's right," Ernie said. "Whoever did it picked Crabbe for a reason, and they knew where he was going to be."

"That wouldn't take much," Blaise announced. "Crabbe was complaining about the detention Hagrid gave him for breaking Harry's arm. Hagrid told the entire class that Crabbe would be moving a batch of mandrakes from the greenhouse to the gardens. But you're still missing the important part, and there isn't much time."

Ernie gave him a disapproving glance. "Oh yeah? And which part of this is so important?"

Blaise glared back at Ernie and crossed his arms. "Whoever did it knew exactly where Harry broke his arm, and found out soon enough to overhear Crabbe that night and plan for the next day." Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"That doesn't really help. The whole class knew. Malfoy told them all. By time I got to the Great Hall, everyone knew."

"No, whoever did it knew exactly where it was broken. They must have seen it. Malfoy only said you'd broken your arm... Well, he said you fell and were crying about your arm, but there's Malfoy. I'm not sure even he knew where it was broken. So who saw it? Who actually saw it broken?" Hermione's eyes had lit up.

"Harry, of course. Me. Ron. Neville must have seen it. But it can't be any of those."

"That goes for Crabbe, too," Ron added, "and I don't think Goyle could remember something that complex. But Nott was there."

"—And the Auror that came to help," Hermione added.

"There is Pomfrey, of course," Harry said, "and there was a fourth year in the Wing with me. I didn't recognize him."

"It's not a very long list, is it?" Hannah remarked as she rubbed a bruise on her arm.

"No, its not," Blaise said evenly. "Whoever attacked Crabbe had a reason, but who else had a reason to get back at Crabbe? Who else had a reason to attack him like they did?"

"We've been over this," Hermione said before anyone got upset, "Harry didn't do it, we don't know who would—"

"I'm not talking about who attacked Crabbe," Blaise cut her off, while still trying to sound friendly. "I'm talking about _why_ he was attacked. Frankly, anyone in the school could imagine most of you lot being angry at Crabbe." Hermione started to protest but Blaise put out a hand to silence her. "Justin said he got an Auror. Why weren't there any red sparks or alarms?"

"Well...er..." Ron started to say, but instead he seemed unsure of what to say. "Wait. Why weren't there any alarms? Harry told Dumbledore what was happening. Why didn't he alert the Aurors?"

"Because there is only one person in the school who had a reason to attack Crabbe like that. Dumbledore didn't want anyone to know," Ginny said, "He wanted everyone to believe Crabbe. He— He didn't want everyone to panic?"

"Oh, I think it was more than that," Cho said. She was looking at Blaise with new respect. "Harry's the only reasonable possibility. Justin isn't stupid, but he's not the smartest wizard here either. If he put it together, then it won't take long for loads of others to come to the same answer."

Harry felt his blood chill as he realized what was happening. "They'll all think I did it. He's trying to make it look like I'm dangerous. He wants me to get kicked out of Hogwarts like Hagrid."

"Can I make a suggestion?" Daphne Greengrass asked quietly. "Now might be a good time for Ernie and Hannah to go try and stop Justin from telling all the Hufflepuffs. Tomorrow's a Hogsmeade weekend, and you'll never be able to stop the news from spreading."

Everyone agreed and Ernie and Hannah ran out of the room. Perhaps Justin would cool down and not talk to many other students. With luck, only a few students would hear from him. They didn't know what to do if anyone else reached the same conclusion.

Harry was encouraged by the fact that he at least could talk honestly about it. He really hadn't done anything to Crabbe. He didn't really think that Dumbledore would ever let him be expelled or taken away from Hogwarts, but he remembered how much less fun Hogwarts was when everyone thought you were attacking your classmates.

When he got back to the Gryffindor common room, people had all sorts of questions for him. Few of them had actually believed Justin, but he noticed that some first and second years had overheard what the older students were talking about and were avoiding him.

As he went to sleep that night, he hoped that Hannah and Ernie had been able to talk to Justin and the rest of the Hufflepuffs. If they hadn't, then tomorrows Hogsmeade trip wouldn't be as relaxing as he had hoped.

* * *

Harry awoke the next day to find it raining. The grounds were already muddy, and the sky was low and gloomy.

"Morning, Harry," Ron croaked from his bed. Harry frowned, and surveyed the landscape.

"Not a very good one, though."

The two of them met Hermione and Ginny in the common room before going down to breakfast. As they approached the Great Hall, Harry noticed that he was getting more looks than he usually got. Groups of people were moving to the side of the hall as he walked past, and a number of them were whispering behind his back. Ginny had noticed it, too.

"Er, Harry? This isn't looking so good."

Hermione looked rather angry. She looked at Ron and Ginny, "You two stay with him. I'm going to talk to Hannah and Ernie." She then ran off ahead of them to the Great Hall.

When they finally made it, they saw Hermione very animatedly talking to Hannah and Ernie in a corner near the Gryffindor table. Ernie was acting a little intimidated and Hannah's face was pinker than usual. Harry turned to find a seat, but Ginny stopped him.

"Why don't you sit on that side?" Harry stopped and gave her a look.

"What's wrong with this side?" he asked.

She pushed him over to the other side and said in a low voice, "You don't want to know how many people are looking at you."

Indeed, since they had entered the Hall, it had grown much quieter, and quite a few people were staring directly at him. The rest mostly went about their eating, casting suspicious or wary glances his way when they got the chance.

Harry found he'd lost his appetite. He grabbed a nearby apple and tried to ignore the feeling of everyone looking at him as if he might turn around and attack any one of them. While he couldn't see them looking, he knew they still were. Ginny was getting visibly annoyed. Neville sat down next to her, and tried to cheer her up.

"I hear Zonko's has some new taffies they're going to be testing today. If we get there early enough, I bet we can try them out."

It didn't cheer Ginny up, but at least it distracted her. She sat up and nodded slowly. "Yeah, that might be fun. I'm sure Fred and George would love to get their hands on them." Her triumphant look was the closest Harry saw her to being happy that morning.

Ron paused to stare at her. "And if Zonko's catches you doing it, you'll end up with flippers where your hands are and have quite a time trying to give them to Fred and George."

"Well then, I just won't get caught, will I? Harry will help me. Won't you, Harry?" Harry tried to mumble something about not being hungry but he was interrupted by Neville.

"I'll help you," he said in a clear voice.

Ginny smiled back at Ron. "See. Neville will help me."

Ron gave her a bewildered look. "What can the twins do for you that's worth that? Not to mention that you're a prefect now, and you're supposed to be setting an example."

"Right, thanks for the advice, _Hermione_," Ginny replied sourly. Ron looked hurt.

"What advice?" Hermione said as she sat down next to Ginny. Hannah and Ernie were standing behind her.

"Ginny wants to nick the new sweets Zonko's testing today and give them to the twins."

Hermione turned to Ginny. "Don't get caught," she told Ginny quickly. Ron tried to protest but Hermione didn't let him. "Hush, Ron. We have a problem with Justin." Ron was still a little annoyed at being dismissed.

"A bit off today, are you? You've been talking to those two for ten minutes and I could have told you that before we even sat down."

Hermione scowled at Ron, but ignored his comment. "Justin thinks we're trying to keep him from talking."

"Aren't we?" Harry asked.

"No, Harry. He thinks you're trying to force him to not tell everyone the truth about Crabbe. The truth where you attacked him."

"Brilliant." Harry said, dropping his apple on the floor. "First I'm attacking people and now I'm forcing witnesses to keep quiet. I haven't killed anyone yet, have I?"

"That's not funny, Harry. He talked to Professor Sprout about it. He wants to remove you from the D.A."

"Fine," Harry said as he violently ripped apart a roll. "I never asked to be in it."

The rest of breakfast was relatively quiet. Harry didn't eat much more. Ginny tried to get him to talk, but she kept getting interrupted by Neville's attempts to cheer her up. When they returned to the common room, Harry pretended to study and tried to ignore the fact that a bunch of third year's had evacuated the table next to him when he sat down.

Ron and Hermione had occupied the area around the fireplace. Hermione was reading a book that probably wasn't even assigned, while Ron spent the time fixing his broom with Harry's maintenance kit. Neville and Ginny had started up a game of Exploding Snap in the area between the two of them.

As noon approached, there seemed to be some silent decision that it was time to go back to the Great Hall. Lunch felt similar to breakfast, except there were more students, and perhaps fewer or more discrete stares in Harry's direction. Even the professors at the head table were whispering amongst themselves.

After the meal, all members of the D.A. who were willing to be identified were supposed to meet in the Entrance Hall to organize before the students headed out to Hogsmeade. Harry waited until the very last moment before Hermione and Ginny forced him to leave the Great Hall.

The Entrance Hall became silent as he walked to the steps. Ron was walking purposefully next to him. As Harry climbed onto the third step, Ron followed him, and before Harry could speak, he was addressing the group.

"Alright now, let's just get this over with!" he shouted. "Raise your hand if you think that Harry here killed all those families he didn't even know this summer." Many of the members looked at each other. Some were surprised and others were simply confused. None raised their hands. "Right then. Raise your hand if you think that Harry murdered all those Muggles at King's Cross while he was sleeping!" No hands appeared, but several heads drooped. "None of you? Then raise your hand if you think that Harry, who's spent more time in the Hospital Wing than any of us, attacked Crabbe because he had to spend a half hour getting his arm mended?"

Harry looked at the students standing around on the floor. Some of them looked truly ashamed now. Instead of the mistrusting looks he'd been getting, he saw looks of apology now. Ron, seemingly pleased with his performance, stepped back down to where Hermione and Ginny were standing. Hermione flashed a bright smile at him and then another to Harry.

"Justin's not here," one of the Hufflepuffs called out. They had been told to announce any member who was unexpectedly absent. In a quiet voice, Hannah answered: "I don't think he's part of the D.A. anymore." This caused some murmurs, including some complaints from the more vocal of the Hufflepuffs.

"Why not? He was a bit of a prat, but is that all it takes to be chucked out of the D.A? Are we not allowed to disagree with Potter? What kind of group is this?" In the back of the group, Harry saw Cho standing with Michael Corner. She was looking at him expectantly. She didn't have to ask the question. Harry already knew it.

"You don't have to agree with me," Harry said, silencing the crowd. "You don't have to do what I tell you to. I won't punish you if you disobey me, and anyone can quit whenever they want." Ginny and Hermione were looking at him with respect. Ron, however, was scowling at the Hufflepuffs. From the back of the group, Cho Chang nodded and gave him a weak smile.

Hannah spoke up to finish her explanation. "No one kicked Justin out of the D.A. Last night he told me that he wasn't coming today. He said he wouldn't come to any more meetings if Harry was there."

In the following silence, footsteps could be heard approaching the Entrance Hall. Professor McGonagall paused as she entered the room. The students were completely silent and didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular. It was uncomfortable and troubling.

"Is everything under control, Mr. Potter?"

"I think so, Professor."

"You are ready, then?"

Harry nodded and turned to address the group again, but his voice seemed stiff and monotone. "Like the Aurors told us: Keep an eye out for anything that seems odd. If you see anything, send up red sparks, and the Aurors will come. Now, this is the first Hogsmeade trip, so expect a decent number of third years to have some trouble finding their way around. Hermione and Hannah will take half of you now to check Hogsmeade before the other students get there. Cho and I will take the other half to watch the students on their way there. Ernie, find a friend and watch the gate and keep in touch with the Aurors."

After all the distrust they had shown earlier that day, the D.A. was quick to follow his orders. Ernie nodded to another Hufflepuff and made for the door while the rest of the group separated into halves. Cho walked over to the group of Gryffindors, and tried to attract as little attention as she could.

She failed, and Ginny jumped suddenly when Neville tapped her on the shoulder. "Come on, Ginny. We can get to Hogsmeade before the rest of the students."

Ginny looked quickly to Harry. She'd wanted to go with him. After that morning she knew he'd want friends around. But he'd sent Hermione in the first group, and picked Cho to go with him. Why did he have to pick her? Ginny kept telling herself that Harry didn't care at all about Cho, but at the same time she selfishly wanted to walk next to him so Cho would understand as well.

Harry's thoughts weren't all that different. He'd heard Ginny say she wanted to go to Zonko's early. Hermione could have handled the students. Why didn't he say he'd take the first half? He'd wanted to assign Ginny to come with him, but with the lack of trust he was getting, he didn't want to seem like he was favoring his own house. Now he was stuck with Cho.

"I'm sure you'd still get to Zonko's with plenty of time with us," he tried. Cho was watching the three of them with a curious look on her face. Harry wanted to ask what she was thinking about, but knew it was probably best if he didn't, just in case she might actually tell him.

"I— I suppose, but..." Ginny started, but she knew that once the rest of the students got there many of them would be heading right for Zonko's. The only way she could be sure to get there was to go with Hermione and Neville. Until then everything had been turning out pretty well. Having Fred and George owe you a favor was generally a good thing. She didn't quite know when she'd need it, but the way the last few months had been going, it might be sooner than she'd expect. In the end, it was worth it. Wasn't it? With a sigh, she gave harry a sympathetic smile. "I really want to get those sweets for Fred and George. We'll never know when we might need them to do something for us."

Neville was beaming, and Hermione shook her head at Ginny. "Come on, then," she said pulling Ginny with her toward the door. "Maybe if we help, you won't get caught, or at least not permanently disfigured." Ron gave Harry a pleading look.

"Go on, then," Harry told him. "I'll be fine. I'll see you there."

When they had left, Cho walked up next to Harry. "So what's going on with Ginny and Neville?" she said in a low voice.

"They're going to try and nick some of Zonko's new sweets."

"Yeah, I heard that. Is...er... _he_ the one she dumped Dean for?"

"No," Harry said quickly before thinking. "I mean— Well, I don't think so. Neville... He's not all that brilliant with most magic. He does really well in Herbology, though. Lots of people make fun of him for that, but Ginny's not like that. I think she's the best friend he's got."

Cho nodded and shrugged. They sat down on the stairs and waited patiently for the rest of the students to gather. As they waited, Dean and Seamus walked back in through the doors, asking to trade spots with a pair of Ravenclaws, who were eager to get a shot at trying Zonko's new creations.

As they walked over and sat back down near the other Gryffindors Harry asked them if there was anything wrong. Seamus said it was nothing but gave Dean a sidelong glance. Dean looked down and mumbled something about there being too many Gryffindors in the group. Harry offered to let him be at the front of the group leading the students, and though he agreed, it didn't seem to cheer him up much.

* * *


	22. Unintentional Retribution

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 22 - Unintentional Retribution**

* * *

Hermione waved to Ernie as they passed through the main gates to Hogwarts. Ginny and Neville were walking beside her, and there was a loose line of D.A. members extending behind them. 

Ginny kept telling herself that everything was fine, and that this would be worth it. Really, the events of last night and this morning had provided enough of a distraction that she wasn't even terribly nervous about what she'd have to do once they got to Zonko's. Hermione had seemed rather unconcerned at first, but she seemed to be thinking about it more now.

"So, Ginny," she said trying to sound conversational, "Fred and George aren't going to do anything...er... improper with these things, right?"

"No, I don't think so. Fred and George are mostly harmless—" Ginny paused as Neville choked and glared at her. "They are! They're just curious, really. They were kicked out of Zonko's over the summer. The shopkeeper told them he didn't want them stealing ideas."

"Isn't that what you're doing, though?"

"No!" Ginny said defensively. "They'd never get to see them otherwise. They don't see the point in copying other people's ideas. They prefer coming up with their own."

"Well, I haven't seen anyone else selling portable swamps," Neville added with a smile.

When they got to Hogsmeade, Hermione forced everyone to check the town out first, before running off to the joke shop. Various groups were assigned some tasks before they split up. There would be at least two people in the Three Broomsticks at all times, and another two who were to remain at the joke shop until it had calmed down. Finally, with a sigh, Hermione and Hannah agreed that everyone could split up.

The result was less like splitting and more like migration. Most of the students headed off to Zonko's straight away, and Hermione resignedly followed Neville and Ginny.

There was already a line of students there when the three of them arrived. As they stood in line, Ginny pulled a bag of sweets out of one pocket and dumped them into another. Neville asked what she was doing, but she simply shook her head at him. They were too close to the door already and she didn't want anyone to hear her explaining it.

Not long afterward, the three of them walked out of the shop (instead of being thrown out, as Hermione had feared) with smiles on their faces. This was partly because of the fun of trying things no one else had even seen, but mostly because of the final taffy they'd been allowed to try. They had been ensured that it should wear off in only a minute or two, though Neville still had his horns. In contrast, several of the sweets hadn't seemed to work very well at all on Ginny.

While Hermione and Neville were still smiling broadly, her face had dropped to something that looked quite a bit more concerned.

"Yours wore off already?" Neville asked. His voice sounded disappointed, but he looked quite happy about it. Ginny's smile returned, but it wasn't from any taffy.

"Of course not," she said happily. "I never ate mine." She pulled out a handful of sweets from one of her pockets. "I told you I was going to take them. I didn't get them all, unfortunately, but I did get two of that one that braided your hair. They were certain it would work on me."

"Well done, I suppose," Hermione said, sounding only slightly disapproving. "Should we send them off to the twins then?" Ginny was putting them back into a pouch which she then put in a pocket inside her robes. "No," she said, "I'll send them off with a bit of a note. I'll do it tonight. I'm sure Harry will let me send Hedwig."

Back at Hogwarts, Harry and the remainder of the D.A. had just started leading the rest of the students to Hogsmeade. As he walked he saw the Aurors watching them, and felt quite useless. With the Aurors around it seemed like he was merely playing at their jobs. He wondered if they were laughing to themselves about the children trying to protect each other. What could they really do, if Voldemort would choose to attack? Perhaps this was pointless.

Looking back at the others, it seemed they were thinking the same thing. Harry shrugged and tried to forget about it. They were doing the job Dumbledore had assigned them. At least he'd be able to relax.

Upon arriving at Hogsmeade, most of the students immediately made for Zonko's. Harry didn't care as much as he normally would have about the new pranks. Part of him wanted to just go back to the castle. Instead he decided upon finding a quiet corner of the Three Broomsticks. He walked away from Cho without a word, and disappeared into the crowd.

Finding a nice quiet table was easier than he expected. It was in a dim corner of the room. No one else was sitting near it. Harry had quietly brought a butterbeer back to it and was relaxing in the quiet before the pub filled with boisterous students.

He knew (or at least hoped) that Ginny would be looking for him, and when he heard laughing and shouting outside the door he hoped it would be her trailing Ron and Hermione. When the door opened, instead of his three friends, it was a rather large group of students. They didn't seem to notice him immediately and Harry looked away hoping they wouldn't decide to join him.

As some of the students walked off to scavenge chairs from other, less crowded tables, one of them saw Harry. "He _is_ here!" he shouted back to one of the tables. Harry dropped his head into his hands, and was about to leave when he heard the one thing that could make him stay.

"Harry! There you are!" Ginny shouted as she raced across the room. She'd wanted to hug him but she became suddenly conscious of the large group of students nearby. She stopped in front of him abruptly. "Er... Hi," she said with an awkward smile.

Ron and Hermione hurried over to him, as Neville and Luna Lovegood followed them. "What were you doing?" Hermione asked him as if it hadn't been obvious.

"Enjoying the silence," he responded with a shrug. Even as he said that, a second group of students walked through the door. Harry turned to watch them sit down. Standing in the middle of them was Justin Finch-Fletchley. He froze when he saw Harry sitting in the corner.

"No," he said loudly as he backed away from the table his friends were sitting at. "I'll come back when _he's_ not here. I've had enough of him." They tried to convince him to ignore Harry and sit down, but it only irritated him more. "Are you on his side, now? You believe what he sent Hannah and Ernie to tell you all instead of me?"

Ginny was glaring at Justin angrily and seemed about to have a go at him when Hermione stopped her and walked over to Justin. "Calm down, Justin. Harry's not doing anything. He just wants to relax."

"I don't care, _Hermione_," he said testily as if her own name were an insult. "I see how it works now, and I'm not going to be his lackey. If he can't be honest with me, then I'm not wasting my time with him and his little club." Hermione tried to protest, but Justin didn't let her talk. "Come on, Hermione. Crabbe's arm was broken exactly where Harry's was, the day after he broke it! Now he wants us to think it was some conspiracy to—" he gestured wildly "—I don't know what it was supposed to do."

Hermione walked up to him and spoke in a low voice, "Not here, Justin. Not now."

"Oh! That's right, I'm supposed to keep quiet, aren't I?" he said as his face reddened. "I'm not supposed to let anyone else know what I saw, right? Keep it a secret. Don't want anyone else to find out what Potter's been up to, right?" He walked past Hermione and looked directly at Harry. "He's getting to be more of a problem than he's worth. Someone had to stand up to him. He's getting out of control."

"Been talking with Malfoy, have you?" Ron asked.

"Malfoy probably hates him because he sees him as competition," Justin sneered back. "You had nothing to do with all the dead Muggles at King's Cross, right? 'Course not. There was just a bloody big lightning bolt on the barrier. Tell us again how Cedric died and you couldn't do _anything_ to stop it."

"Shut up, Justin," Harry growled.

"And I hear that your godfather died trying to get you out of some mess you started." Harry stood and pushed his chair aside. Unfazed, Justin continued, "You have a habit of having people around you die, but it's always You-Know-Who, isn't it?"

"I think that's quite enough, for me," Harry said in a cold emotionless voice. He walked stiffly past Justin and out the door. Everyone was silent for a short moment as Justin's expression changed from one of anger to triumph.

Ginny, Ron, and Hermione quickly walked out of the pub after Harry with Neville jogging after them, but when they got outside they didn't see Harry. "He couldn't have gotten far..." Hermione said as she peered around the street.

"Wouldn't have to," Ron said as he rubbed his forehead. "He brought his cloak. I told him that it was a bad idea in case we needed to find him, but he did it anyway."

"He just wanted to relax," Ginny said as she looked back at the door to the Three Broomsticks. "What was Justin thinking?" She turned back to Hermione and shrugged. "He'll show up again. He probably just went somewhere to be left alone."

"Well, we need to find him," Hermione said. "I don't know what made Justin do that, but I just don't feel right not knowing where Harry is."

"Should we split into pairs and search for him?" Neville asked. Hermione was still looking around for any sign of which direction Harry might have gone.

"No, there's too many places he could have gone. We'll have to search individually. Neville, see if you can find him on the path back to the castle. Ron, you check the Hog's Head. I'll go this way, Ginny, you go that way." The four of them split up with Neville following Ginny for a while until he had to turn off the road and walk toward Hogwarts.

Ginny stopped once she was alone, and looked around her. He could be anywhere, simply sitting in a corner, and no one would ever notice him. He wouldn't gone back to the castle. Harry wouldn't just run away. He was probably somewhere in plain sight, or at least, it would be plain sight if you could see through an Invisibility Cloak.

Ginny realized how hopeless it was to even try to find him. He'd used the Cloak enough that he'd know how and where to hide. She'd tried to tell Hermione. If Harry didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be. He'd show up. She knew it, but at the same time she knew she'd feel better once he had. "Where did you go, Harry?" she whispered to herself.

"Behind you," came an answering whisper so close to her ear that she shrieked and and leapt away. It had been Harry. She turned to look in the direction of the whisper expecting to see empty space, but instead saw a very somber young wizard with bright green eyes.

"What are you doing here in the middle of the street?" Ginny asked as her heart tried to slow to its normal rhythm. Harry gave her a weak smile and shrugged.

"Following you."

Ginny wasn't sure what that meant. Harry explained as he walked down the street. "I wanted to wait until Neville left. I was waiting right outside the door." He paused as he looked down at the ground. "I used to get to talk to you all the time. Now it's different." Ginny smiled and tentatively reached for his hand.

Harry's heart raced as he walked down the high road. He couldn't explain it. It's not like it was that much, but suddenly the world seemed to be moving slower than normal, and he couldn't even remember anything that had happened earlier. He pointed across the street, "Zonko's! I think a few laughs are just what I need." Ginny stopped, but Harry still had her hand and he was tugging her toward the shop.

"Er... Harry, I don't know—" she protested.

With one last tug he pulled her into the shop. There were only a couple of students in the shop, but Harry quickly let go of Ginny's hand as she turned to walk away from him. The shopkeeper noticed him immediately.

"Why, it's Harry Potter! How nice to see you. We hoped you'd be coming around. We have some new taffies that we've saved for you." The man behind the counter pulled out a small cloth bag and tossed it to Harry. "Feel free to give them a try and tell us what you think."

Harry thanked him and turned to show them to Ginny, but she wasn't there. She was stooping over a trunk of various trick inks. He went to show her but she acted uninterested. "I was here with Neville and Ron earlier," she said before standing to look at teacup that claimed it would turn to a spider when you added tea.

He continued to look around the shop, but Ginny mostly kept to one wall. Eventually he found a small book called the Procrastinator's Pocketbook. It had a page for every day of the year. When you wrote a note about something needing to be done or started, it would move it to another page, giving you all the extra time you needed.

"That's brilliant," Harry laughed. "I should get this for Hermione. Come take a look at this." Ginny stopped for a moment before quickly walking over to Harry with her head down. Harry picked up the sample Pocketbook and the quill that were out for customers to give it a try. He wrote on the page for the 17th of May:

_Write Defense Against the Dark Arts Essay._

He handed the book to Ginny, who watched as the ink faded and then scrawled across the page for the 18th of May in exactly the same script. With a start, she snapped the book closed and dropped it back on the pile of other Pocketbooks. "I— I don't much like books that write for themselves, Harry."

"Oh. Right." Harry felt quite embarrassed as he put the quill down where he'd taken it from. The sound of the dropping book had drawn the attention of the shopkeeper, however.

"Ahh. The Procrastinating Pocketbooks are quite popular with the fifth and seventh-years," he announced. "There are also the—" The man paused as his eyebrows slowly raised. "Well, welcome back..." he said as he looked at Ginny, who had taken an interest in some toads which looked to be made of stone. "Miss..._Weasley_, is it?" he said loudly, causing another older wizard to poke his head through a doorway nearby. "I am correct? You are Ginny Weasley?"

Ginny stood up and looked at the shopkeeper strangely. The other wizard walked out toward Harry. "Ahh, Miss Weasley. You've returned!" Ginny was beginning to look a little uncomfortable. "I'm terribly sorry I didn't recognize you when you were here earlier. It was quite busy, you understand. I was quite surprised to hear that the Pumpkin Plaiting Taffy didn't work at all on you."

Ginny was inching away from the man. "Yes, well, these things do happen. As it happens I've never even felt dizzy after a whiff of your Fainting Flowers either."

"Ohhh, how unfortunate," the man said smoothly, though Harry was beginning to doubt his sincerity. "Why don't you let us try and make it up to you. Zonko's does work quite hard at making products to please our customers. Trevor," he said to the wizard at the counter, "would you fetch our latest creation?"

The man turned and walked off toward a door behind the counter. He opened the door to a dark, empty room filled with a number of long robes and Justin Finch-Fletchley. Harry blinked and stepped forward. "Justin?" he called out. He turned to Ginny who seemed as surprised as he was. "Has he been here all this time?"

"Has who been here?"

"Justin! He's in that closet!"

Ginny felt exceptionally uncomfortable. What was Harry trying to do? Judging by the look on the older wizards face, it certainly wasn't working. She leaned her head toward Harry. "What are you going on about, Harry?"

As Trevor returned to the counter, the older wizard peered at Harry over his spectacles. "That is a storage closet, Mr. Potter." Then, turning to Trevor who was holding a bundle of cloth, he continued, "Trevor, was—er— anyone in the closet?" Trevor hardly needed to answer.

"What was that, sir? Someone in the closet? I couldn't fit a Boggart in there. You feeling alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you, and you are quite correct. Now, Miss Weasley, please let me show you our newest item. It's a set of trick robes. I'm sure you'll find them most interesting."

The room around Harry was getting hazy. He heard Ginny say, "No, you don't have to do that," but her voice was muffled as if he had covered his ears with heavy woolen socks. As he looked around the room, he realized he could see shadows moving.

"Oh, but I _insist_," the man said as he advanced on Ginny. "Now, hand me your robes and you can give it a try."

Ginny was already backing away. "We should really be going. We should find Ron and Hermione. Come on, Harry," She looked to him, but he didn't seem to see her. He seemed to be looking all around the room as if he were blind.

"Harry!" Ginny shouted, finally getting his attention. "Harry, what's wrong?" Harry blinked a couple times and looked at her.

"Justin. He's being chased by... by..."

"Mr. Potter, are you feeling ill? Perhaps you should sit down. Miss Weasley here will try on the robes and we'll get you some Pepper Up Potion." Ginny ignored him and pulled Harry toward the door, as they stumbled into the street, they could hear the shopkeeper calling from the door, "Good day, then. I look forward to seeing you again, Miss Weasley!"

Ginny pulled out her wand and looked intently at Harry. "It's another vision, isn't it?" Harry nodded slowly. "You saw Justin?" Another nod. "Is he— Is he still—" Harry nodded.

"He's still alive. I think he's trying to go back to the castle." Without any hesitation Ginny pointed her wand into the sky and sent up a brilliant shower of red sparks.

The display drew a crowd of students and inhabitants, and it didn't take long before a number of Aurors had joined the crowd as well. For a moment, an older Auror who seemed to be the most senior of those there began scolding the students for calling him needlessly, but his attitude changed when he realized that several students where crouched around Harry, who had taken a seat on a nearby bench.

"It's too late," he told them. "He's already been attacked. He was still moving. I think he's still alive. He can't be far from the main gate." The last thing Harry had seen was Justin falling to the ground, he'd been clutching at his own neck and trying to crawl toward the castle.

With a nod, several of the Aurors Disapparated. The older Auror asked Harry many questions, but gave up when he realized that Harry honestly didn't know who had done it, or why. The crowd was starting to disperse when a pair of Aurors Apparated nearby and ran to the senior Auror.

They whispered between each other, looking over at Harry occasionally. Even as close as they were, the students could only hear what the leader what saying. "Just him?...And how many are there?... Alright... We'll have to take them back... No, I don't see how Dumbledore will keep this quiet... And get Shacklebolt out here."

Both of the Aurors Disapparated again. The remaining Auror turned to Harry and the students around him. "You're the D.A. Council?" Several of the students nodded. "Well, we need to gather everyone up. All students are to return to the castle as quickly as we can manage. Gather everyone right here. Everyone goes together."

Hermione separated the D.A. members into small groups and sent them out to fetch any students who hadn't come to investigate the sparks. It didn't take long before all the students had been gathered and counted. They were short only six people. One was Justin. Neville hadn't returned but the Aurors said that he was already back at the castle. There was a Ravenclaw third-year who'd went back after receiving an owl at the Three Broomsticks, a pair of Hufflepuffs who had already returned and a single Slytherin who had left almost immediately after discovering that Zonko's had run out of samples of their new taffies.

They walked back as a group, surrounded by a number of Aurors. Not far from the main gate, they saw five Aurors who were searching the ground around one particular area. Apparently that was where Justin had been attacked.

The students filed by silently and didn't talk openly until they were safe inside Hogwarts castle again. They didn't have much time, though. Professor McGonagall was standing sternly in the center of the Hall. As students walked past her, she stopped some of them to say something. As soon as Harry and his friends got near her, she stopped them too.

"There will be a prefects meeting at precisely five o'clock. You will meet in the Transfiguration classroom. I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. Prefects only. The Headmaster will address the rest of the students at the evening meal."

Harry spent most of the time between then and the meeting trying to explain what he'd seen.

"It has to be the Death Eaters, doesn't it? All of the visions have been about things they're doing," Hermione had argued. "Maybe it has nothing to do with Voldemort, and you're seeing things that some Death Eater is doing?"

Harry tried to explain how these visions had been different. "When I see Voldemort its usually pretty clear. It feels like I'm right there. These last visions were... cloudy, and weak. I don't know why. Maybe it is a Death Eater, but Voldemort is the one controlling it."

"But why would the Death Eaters attack Justin?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged. "Why would _anyone_ attack Justin?"

"Harry," she said cautiously, "he did say some pretty nasty things to you."

"Right, but who would attack him because of that? Ginny looked about ready to, but you ruined that chance. Look, we counted up the students. They were all there. Who else would know?"

"Well, there were other people in the pub, Ron," Hermione said.

"And how would they get past the Aurors?" Ron challenged her.

"Maybe they were invisible like Harry was."

"Justin wasn't running from something he couldn't see," Harry said with finality. "You three need to go to your meeting. McGonagall sounded pretty serious."

Ron, Hermione and Ginny reluctantly stood and walked off through the portrait hole. Harry sat for a while in the common room. It didn't make sense. It had to be Voldemort. Who else would do it? Who else could? It seemed more like whoever was doing this trying to help him, however misguided their actions.

Who knew just where he'd broken his arm? Who had seen that and been at the pub to hear Justin? Who could get past the Aurors and not be noticed running away? None of the answers matched up, and the visions were different. He wasn't seeing Voldemort. He knew it. His scar hadn't even twinged since Voldemort had spoken to him after he'd become Claire's godfather.

Had Claire been at Hogsmeade? Harry felt the guilt wash through him. He'd been so concerned about Crabbe and Justing that he had completely forgotten about her. There wasn't anything to worry about now. He'd have heard if anything had happened to her. However it didn't do much to lighten the guilt he felt about completely forgetting her.

Ginny would know more. He just had to wait for the prefects to return from their meeting.

* * *

It didn't take too long before they did return. All of them looked somber and almost tired. Several other students had been loitering in the common room waiting for them to return, but the prefects refused to say anything, and simply announced that Dumbledore would be speaking to them before dinner that night. 

The rest of the students took this with a little annoyance, but none of them wanted to start a fight over it, so they milled around the Tower waiting for the time when they would leave for the Great Hall.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny joined Harry at one of the small tables. Neville and Seamus walked over to stand by them. After a stretch of awkward silence, Harry finally spoke up, though too low a voice for anyone beyond the table to hear.

"Is there anything I might want to know before dinner?"

Ron and Hermione shared a look. Hermione glanced over toward Seamus before answering.

"Yes, it seems there is a hippogriff living in the forest. Dumbledore thinks it—"

"A hippogriff?" Harry said, interrupting her. "What does this have to do with Justing being attacked by—"

"Dumbledore says it attacked Justin," Hermione finished quickly. "There was one that escaped a few years back. I'm certain you remember it."

"Yeah," Harry said in an even voice. "Large thing, wings, beak?"

Hermione frowned slightly. "Right. That's the one. Well Dumbledore says they think Justin upset it and it attacked him. Hagrid's agreed to try and find it."

Harry stared intently at Ron and Hermione. Why had Dumbledore said that? They all had to know that Justin wasn't attacked by some hippogriff. "And Dumbledore's certain about it?"

"That's just what he'd told the _Daily Prophet_," Ron added with a nod.

So that was it, Harry thought. Dumbledore knew what was happening, but he was trying to keep it a secret, just like he was trying to keep everything about Claire a secret. The only question was whether he was trying to protect Harry or Hogwarts itself.

Harry didn't press them with any more questions. He decided to simply wait to hear what Dumbledore had to say and speak with his friends when they could find someplace a little more private.

He wasn't the only one who had been eager to hear what Dumbledore would say. When they walked into the Great Hall, Harry was a little disturbed by the atmosphere. Instead of large groups of students laughing and talking, they were simply sitting quietly, watching the head table where Dumbledore, all four heads of house and a number of other professors were sitting. It was the most professors he'd seen at dinner since the Opening Feast.

He sat down near the middle of the Gryffindor table. The rest of his friends sat down around him and they joined the rest of the students in their silent wait as the last of the students trickled in from the Entrance Hall.

Complete silence fell across the Hall as Dumbledore finally rose. Harry listed as Dumbledore told the students just what Ron and Hermione had told him. He explained that Justin had been attacked by a wild hippogriff. Harry was relieved to discover that Justin hadn't died, and was only mildly injured.

"For those of you wishing to see him, I'm afraid you've lost your chance. Mr. Finch-Fletchley has just been transferred to his home where he'll be treated by one of his aunts. With luck he'll return in a week or so."

Murmurs rippled through the Hall as students quickly whispered amongst themselves about the news. Dumbledore kept talking, but Harry wasn't listening. He was mostly talking about the need for the students to stay out of the forest, and what the students should do if they saw the hippogriff. Of course, there was no hippogriff, and if Harry ever saw one, he felt pretty certain that he'd be okay.

What was going on? He'd come to Hogwarts and the attacks stopped. Now, they were starting again, and with two in less than a week.

"Finally, one of our third year Ravenclaws has left." Harry's attention snapped back to Dumbledore. "Her parents have both taken ill and she has volunteered to return home to help nurse them back to health." Harry tried to hide his relief. It couldn't be Claire. It was just some other student. "It has been an eventful day, and I'm certain you are all hungry, so let's not wait another moment." He clapped his hands, and various dishes began popping into place on the tables.

Across the table, Ginny was still looking worried. Harry wanted to ask why, but he thought it might look a little too suspicious. Luckily, Ron had no such problems.

"What is it, Ginny?" he asked. "It wasn't your new friend, was it?" He didn't sound like he actually cared.

"No," Ginny said as she shot a frown at Ron. "I think it was one of her friends."

"It's a tragedy," Ron said sarcastically.

"Shut up, Ron," Ginny said without even looking at him.

"Actually, it probably is," he mumbled to Harry as he reached for a pitcher. "That means they'll probably be walking around together next Hogsmeade weekend."

"Well you don't have to worry, Ron," Ginny said sourly. "She can't come to Hogsmeade. Her parents never signed her permission paper."

Harry caught the brief glance Ginny gave him as she said that. Had she known about that before the Hogsmeade trip? The better question, however, was why Harry hadn't. He didn't understand exactly why he felt as if he'd let Claire down. Perhaps it was the similarity to his own third year.

"Tell her I know how it feels," Harry said, attempting to sound casual.

"You could tell her yourself," Ginny suggested. "It would probably be more comforting coming from you."

"I can't," Harry replied as his mind quickly decided on a plan. "I have some research to do in the library."

"Nice one, Harry," Ron said. "For a moment I thought you'd end up listening to some girl whine about how she forgot to have her parents sign the paper. Or maybe they didn't want to," Ron continued, pointing a spoon at Ginny, "in which case, I should thank them."

Ginny scowled at her brother. "If you don't shut up, you just might get the chance."

Ginny hadn't said anything else about Claire for the rest of the meal, but he was fairly certain that she had understood his suggestion, even if she didn't realize what he had planned. Just as he hoped, as they got up to leave, Ginny turned and walked toward the Ravenclaw table.

"Please tell me you're going to talk to Luna, and not that third-year you were pitying," Ron groaned as she walked away.

"Sod off, Ron," Ginny called back to him. "I don't need your permission."

Harry just smiled and shook his head. Ginny could be a little surprising sometimes. Ron just frowned and walked off with Harry and Hermione. Harry didn't know how long it might take for Ginny to get Claire to meet him. Without any verbal plan, he just had to trust that Ginny would finish it up for him. For now the best thing he could do was to head back to the common room. She'd know to find him there.

Before they'd even reached the stairs, they were stopped and pulled aside by Hannah Abbott. They followed her down a short corridor where she started talking quickly and looking over her shoulder.

"This evening, before dinner, I saw Justin," she whispered. "He wasn't attacked by a hippogriff."

Ron crossed his arms. "I could have told you that without seeing him."

Ron's comment was answered with an annoyed look. "I heard the Aurors whispering about it. Dumbledore's trying to keep it quiet. That's why Justin is going home, not to St. Mungo's. The Aurors were arguing with Dumbledore about Harry."

Harry's expression didn't change. It really wasn't even worth his attention. People had been arguing about him for years, and seldom saw fit to even let him know.

"They want to know what happened after they left the meeting. No one is telling them now, though McGonagall must know, and she tells Dumbledore everything. The Aurors want to know how Harry knew that Justin had been attacked before anyone else did."

"I've _told_ them how I know," Harry growled. "And why don't they just ask Justin what happened at the meeting?"

"Right, well that's the problem," she said with another look down the corridor. "Justin... He can't tell them, they—"

"How many bloody times do I have to say that I'm not some Lord you lot have to worship?" Harry hissed.

"I know, Harry," Hannah said looking a little frightened. "You don't understand. Justin can't speak. He's been... silenced —maybe permanently. And there's a scar."

Harry clutched Hannah's shoulder and looked into her eyes. "A scar? A mark? Like a lightning bolt?" Hannah's face was reddening, probably out of fear of Harry's reaction. "Where was it?" After forcing herself to take a deep breath, Hannah answered.

"His neck. It cuts across his throat."

Next to Harry, Ron was rubbing his eyes. "Bad news," he said quietly. "Crabbe has a scar across the same arm you broke, and now Justin has a scar across his neck after we try to get him to keep quiet."

Hannah ran off shortly afterward, leaving Ron, Harry and Hermione to walk to Gryffindor Tower. The situation wasn't any different than it had been before, they'd simply answered the question of whether the attacks were related. It really didn't change any of his plans. People could no more accuse him of this attack than they could the last. Still, he knew he should be prepared for anything.

When he got back he relaxed on the couch and opened his Potions text. On any other Saturday night, it would be rather strange to see anyone opening a book to study, but the common room was uncommonly solemn that night, and there were several students who had pulled out books or essays. Even Ron didn't seem to be in the mood for games.

It didn't take long for Ginny to return to the common room. As she walked over to where Harry and Ron were sitting she pulled a small thick book from her bag.

"Are you still going to the Library, Harry?"

Harry looked up at her. "I guess," he replied. "But I don't really want to be the only one there. It would just be an opportunity for everyone to blame me for anything bad that might happen."

"Oh, I'm sure you won't be," Ginny assured him. "You wouldn't mind returning this one, then?"

Harry grabbed the book and stuffed it into his own bag with his Potions text. He made an excuse to do it right then instead of waiting and said goodbye to all of them. He walked briskly toward the Library, waiting to find an empty hallway where he could check the Map.

A quick look revealed exactly what he was hoping for: Claire was sitting (or standing) in one corner of the abandoned office near the library. He walked even faster, hoping to keep her from sitting alone too long.

When he reached the office he quickly slipped into the room and closed the door, resulting in a quick shriek from Claire as she realized she wasn't alone.

"Ginny isn't coming back?" Claire asked uncomfortably.

"Err... I don't think so," Harry answered. He hadn't wanted to make her uncomfortable.

Claire just sat in the corner and looked at him strangely. "She said you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Yeah, I guess. You weren't at Hogsmeade."

"How clever of you to notice," she said with a bitter laugh, "Of course, you are the amazing Gryffindor Seeker, aren't you? But then, you didn't notice that I'm not in the Defense Association either, so maybe Ravenclaw still has a shot at the cup."

"I didn't get to go to Hogsmeade my entire third year," Harry explained. Claire's face softened a little but she still stared at him. Harry continued, trying to avoid the parts that didn't sound so cheerful. "I ran away from my Muggle relatives' home and no one else would sign the paper to say I could go."

"But you go now," Claire prompted.

"It just took a while for my godfather to realize what had happened. After that, everything was fine."

She stared at the dusty floor between her feet. "Well, you didn't have a worthless godfather like I do, did you? If I knew who mine was, I'd tell him about the Hogsmeade trips. Actually I wouldn't," she said as she looked up. "I'd rather try out every single hex I know on him than beg him to do a single favor for me."

Harry cringed at the emotion in her voice. "Still, there might be something—"

"It won't work," Claire replied in a dejected voice. "I've already asked Dumbledore. Twice. He could sign it himself, but he won't. He was quite clear: No Hogsmeade visits until I get permission from my parent or godfather." With a little scuffling, she stood and brushed the dust from her legs. "So, for me, that means I'll never go to Hogsmeade."

"Perhaps, but I might be able to get you into the D.A." Harry didn't know how it could work, but if he could do one, he should be able to do the other. To his surprise, Claire's face lit up.

"Really?" she said as she looked at him suspiciously. "And how could you do that? McGonagall was just as stubborn as Dumbledore."

"Well, I am the leader," Harry said with a smile, "and I just happen to know quite a few of the Council members."

"But how—"

Harry stopped her and simply smiled. "It'll probably involve some broken rules, so let's just see whether I'm able to do it, first. Then I'll try to find a way of not telling you how I did it."

"The others warned me about you," Claire said as she walked over to the window. "They said you enjoyed breaking rules and doing things you're not supposed to. You never get in trouble. Everyone else does, though. Am I going to get in trouble for this?"

"How could you?" Harry said lightly. "You're not doing anything." This finally got her to smile and she seemed to relax a little more. As they continued talking, Harry could feel her mood lightening. From the way she spoke about it, it was obvious that she didn't really believe that Harry would be able to do anything to help her. She seemed to think he had said it just to cheer her up.

"Harry, can I ask you a serious question?"

"Alright," he replied, taken a little of guard by the sudden change in mood.

"The Hufflepuff who was attacked... He wasn't attacked by a hippogriff was he?" Harry looked at her wondering how much of the truth he should tell her.

"No. He wasn't."

"Why do think he was attacked?"

Harry decided that he needed to be honest with her, even if it was only to make himself feel better. "Because of me. We think Justin was attacked because of an argument we had. Someone wants everyone to think I've been doing this."

"Someone?" Claire asked with a questioning gaze. "You mean the Death Eaters and... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Harry simply nodded. "What if... What if it wasn't about you at all? What if it was just supposed to be a distraction for something else?"

"It could be," Harry said in a low voice. It wasn't the first time he'd thought of it, but there were no more answers there than anywhere else. No matter what other purpose Voldemort might have, Harry needed to try and stop the attacks at Hogwarts. Claire nodded as if she understood.

"I should go," she announced. Harry walked with her to the door and followed her out into the corridor. "Thanks for cheering me up. Cheering Charms just aren't the same." With a weak smile, she turned and walked away from the Library. Harry stood and watched, trying to formulate a plan for the next day. It really had to work. There was nothing Dumbledore could do to stop him, but Harry wasn't sure if it would be worth the consequences if he failed.

"Harry, what is going on with you and Ginny?"

Harry froze as panic shot through his body. He spun around to find Ron and Hermione just outside the door to the library, watching him. Ron looked rather upset. What did he know about him and Ginny? Who could have told him anything? What was there to even tell?

"I... er, well... It's not what it seems, Ron. It just sort of..." Harry stumbled trying to find some way of explaining exactly what was going on with him and Ginny. He looked to Hermione for help, and she seemed to be frantically trying to get him to stop talking. Harry looked back to Ron. "Er... what were you saying?"

"I know you sent a few owls back and forth over the summer and now you're friends and talk all the time. That's fine, but can't you at least keep away from her friends?"

Harry tried to keep the surprise off his face. Ron wasn't talking about Ginny at all. "Ron, we were just talking," Harry said in a calm voice. "I don't see what the problem is."

"Of course you don't," Ron said with an exasperated voice. "Hermione said she wanted to find you. You'd _said_ you'd gone to the Library, but of course you hadn't. And what do we see when we're leaving? You, in the corridor chatting up some _third-year_."

"I was _not_ chatting her up,"

"Right, you were just talking," Ron said as he rolled his eyes. "Couldn't you find someone a little older? There are loads of better girls our age?"

"Oh, really?" Hermione spoke up. "Who would that be?"

Ron stopped to look at her warily. "You're changing the subject," he told her. "This is about Harry."

"I'm aware of that," Hermione responded. "Who are these better girls he should be talking to?"

"Never mind. At least we found Harry. Can we go back now?"

"I have to return Ginny's book," Harry said quickly. Hermione offered to go with him, saying that she'd wanted to check out some books that night.

"Can't it wait? It's a Saturday." Ron complained.

Hermione smiled and looked at Ron. "Maybe I wanted to talk to Harry about his choice in girls."

"Fine," Ron said with a huff. "I'll see you back at the Tower."

"I figured that would work," Hermione mumbled as they watched Ron walk away.

Hermione followed Harry into the library and waited patiently as he dropped Ginny's book off on Madam Pince's desk. She gave Harry a disapproving look as he handed the book to her. As he turned away, Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him to one of the secluded tables in the corner.

"I really don't want to talk about my choice in girls," Harry whispered as Hermione flopped two large books in front of each of them, making it look like they were actually there to read.

"Neither do I," Hermione said, "though I am a bit curious why you're suddenly friends with the girl whose parents were attacked in one of your visions." She ignored the surprise on Harry's face. "Honestly, Harry. It's not that hard to figure out. There aren't that many girls at Hogwarts."

"So what's this about then?" Harry whispered as Madam Pince crossed behind Hermione. He quickly looked down and pretended to read the book. "Is it something about Justin?"

"In a way," Hermione whispered back. Harry started looking closer at the book in front of him. The book was opened to a chapter about various ancient forms of the Confundus Curse. When Pince had passed, he took a quick look at the cover. Printed across the weathered cover in very boring letters was: _Mysteries of Mental Magic: A History of Curses of the Mind and Thoughts_.

"Not this again," Harry groaned as he looked at Hermione.

"And why not?" Hermione asked defiantly. "You'll help Ron turn a biscuit into a dinner plate, but you'll not help me defend myself against an Unforgivable Curse?"

Harry frowned and tried to explain it to her. "It's not that I don't want to help. I don't know how. I don't know how I fight it. I just do."

"You must know how," she argued. "You nearly did it the very first time Crouch tried it on you. There must be something you do that makes it easier."

"Hermione, there are loads of things I can do that I don't understand." He jabbed at the scar on his forehead. "Do you know how this works? Do you know why I can feel when he's angry or happy? Do you think I know how to make that happen? Do you know why I can talk—" Harry stopped himself. He'd been about to tell her that he could talk to Voldemort. He had to relax. Even now he could feel his scar tingle. "Do you think I knew how I could talk to snakes?" Harry asked, thankful for the easy alternative. "I could write a book about the things I can do without understanding them."

"So there's nothing? You don't know anything that can help me?" She was looking quite desperate now. Harry struggled to remain relaxed.

"No, Hermione. I'm sorry. Loads of wizards can't fight it. Even powerful wizards like Crouch and Moody couldn't break it right away."

"Neville almost did. At least the others were able to put up some fight. I shattered that chair to _splinters_ Harry."

"Relax, Hermione. It's not really something to use in a fight, is it? I can't think of any reason you'd ever have to deal with it." Harry's thoughts raced as he tried to make sure that he really couldn't. The Imperius Curse wasn't easy or all that quick to cast. It was only really good when you completely surprised your target.

"I've never had this much trouble with something. Why can't I be rubbish at something else. Why can't I struggle in History of Magic? Why does it have to be this, the one thing I can't practice and no one can teach me?"

"Quiet," snapped Madam Pince, making Harry and Hermione jump in surprise. "If you must use the library for whatever it is you children need to discuss so urgently, then at least show the courtesy of _keeping your voices down._" she hissed.

Hermione colored in embarrassment. Harry simply looked away. When Madam Pince had left the area, Hermione looked up.

"What if Justin was right? What if it's students who are doing this, and they're under the Imperius Curse?"

"Even if it was, you couldn't have attacked Crabbe or Justin," Harry said, hoping to be comforting.

Hermione closed the books and started packing them into her bag. "Maybe not, but what about next time, Harry?"

* * *

The next day Harry spent most of his morning thinking about his plan for that afternoon. He kept mostly to himself, a fact which seemed to worry Ginny and Hermione. By lunch time, he'd finished all his preparations and had happily joined in conversation over food. 

Earlier that day, a notice had been posted in all of the common rooms announcing a Halloween Mask. Hermione explained that the Professors were probably trying to keep everyone in good spirits despite the attacks. There weren't many details included beyond the mention of a competition during the night with prizes going to the best magically themed costume.

The common room had been filled with students trying to come up with costume ideas. Harry, of course, had been ignoring them. He'd had better things to do at the time, but now he finally had time to try and think of something. After hearing some of the other students ideas, he decided that he might not even try to win the contest. He'd won enough contests, and he wasn't sure if there was any prize worth a pair of tails for a few days.

Now that he'd started joining in, Ron started pressuring him to share his ideas for a costume. Harry hadn't even spent a single minute trying to think of costumes. After only a few tries, Ron gave up and tried to convince Hermione that she should go as a lion. She was even less cooperative than Harry had been.

Immediately after lunch, Harry returned to the common room with his friends, then quickly slipped out while they weren't looking. With any luck, Dumbledore would stay in his office. Harry had checked the map when he left the Tower, but he'd noticed that the Headmaster was a difficult person to keep track of.

He gave the password to the gargoyles, and found the stairs were already raised to the door. He bounded up the stairs, hoping that he hadn't missed Dumbledore leaving his office. He reached the door, gave it two sharp raps, and listened for a response.

"Come in," Dumbledore said from inside the office. Harry released the breath he'd been holding in, and pushed the door open.

"Good afternoon, Harry," Dumbledore said with a touch of curiosity. "Is there something I can help you with? Costume ideas, perhaps?"

"No, thank you," Harry replied politely. "I was just walking by and thought you should know that we'll be adding another D.A. member."

"I see. Isn't this a matter for the Council and Professor McGonagall?"

"I suppose. I just figured you'd be interested," Harry replied conversationally. "I'll be off then. Professor McGonagall is in her office, is she?" Harry stood up and started walking to the door.

"Harry, who is the student in question?" Dumbledore's voice sounded concerned and confused. Harry smiled to himself. He'd been trying as hard as he could to not use the Occlumency he'd learned. It had worked.

"Oh, she's a Ravenclaw. A third-year, I think," Harry said as he opened the door. "Her name is Claire Goldwater. She's met with you." Harry was a little shocked when the door handle wrenched out of his grip and the door shut itself tightly.

"Why do you want Miss Goldwater to join the Defense Association?" the Headmaster asked. He was standing in front of his desk, now, and looking quite serious.

"It wasn't my idea. She wants to join," Harry replied in a firm voice. He had to force himself to continue. He knew that it could work, but it wasn't easy facing Albus Dumbledore.

"I was very serious when I said that she should not know you are her godfather."

"She doesn't know," Harry countered. "At least, I haven't told her. She said she wanted to join. I'm just doing my job as her godfather. Her father is dead, her mother cannot sign the papers, and she said you were unwilling to sign them. That leaves her only one option."

"There are very good reasons why I did not want Miss Goldwater to join the Defense Association. They are not so different from the reasons that you were not told about your godfather your third year."

Harry strode toward Dumbledore, heart pounding. "Right, and that turned out pretty well, didn't it?" For a moment, Harry thought he detected a hint of surprise. "If her parents were still alive and fine, she'd already have joined the D.A."

Dumbledore turned to face one of his shelves of silver, spinning instruments. He made a tiny adjustment to one of them, then watched it thoughtfully. "It is within my power to forbid this," he said evenly.

"I figured it was," Harry replied. "If you won't let her join, then it just saves me a trip to McGonagall's office." Harry tossed a piece of parchment on Dumbledore's desk. "I suppose Claire should hand that to Filch herself, but considering the secrecy, perhaps I'll just give it to him for her. I'm sure his cabinet is more than secure enough for that information."

Dumbledore turned to look at the parchment. Harry already knew what it said; he'd written it himself. From where he stood he could still make out his own scrawled signature following the block of script saying Claire could leave on Hogsmeade weekends. With his mouth drawn into a line, Dumbledore picked up the parchment and rolled it up neatly.

"Very well, Harry," Dumbledore said in a low voice. "If someone else were to sign these permission forms, would that be satisfactory?" Harry nodded silently. "There are just two conditions," Dumbledore said as he sat down at his desk and pulled out two pieces of fresh parchment. Harry tried to look defiant as he watched a pair of quills leap onto the parchment and begin scratching out new copies of the permission forms.

"I cannot do this immediately," Dumbledore said. He ignored Harry's plaintive look and continued. "If we do this, it should be done properly. I will need to speak to Miss Goldwater." Harry nodded his agreement. "I will also need you to remain quiet about this. I don't expect Miss Goldwater will, but it is important that this appears to come from me, and not you." Harry agreed to that as well.

"I hope that is all," the Headmaster said with a frown. "Good day, Harry. I have much to do and think about."

Harry walked out of Dumbledore's office and slowly climbed down the stairs on wobbly legs. What had he just done? Had he just coerced his own Headmaster into doing what he wanted? It had worked, but Harry felt as if he'd done something horribly wrong. And yet, at the same time, he felt the slight thrill of success.

When he got back to Gryffindor Tower, he still had not conquered the excitement he'd felt at having his plan work so flawlessly. He tried to look as if nothing had happened, but it was harder than he'd expected.

"Where have you been?" Ron asked as Harry tried to sit down on the couch.

"I had some things I had to do," Harry answered cryptically.

"I don't suppose they had anything to do with a Halloween costume?"

Harry gave Ron and odd look. "No. I don't think I'm all that concerned about finding a costume. I'm pretty certain I'll be able to think of something before Halloween."

"You're not even going to try and win the contest?" Ron asked, crestfallen.

Hermione made an annoyed noise. "Not everyone is dressing up just to win some contest, Ron. Some people are doing it just for fun."

"You're just saying that because you haven't come up with any good ideas," Ron said with a mocking smile.

"For your information I've already thought of a few good ideas," Hermione replied. "I just don't feel the need to have to compete against everyone else. Why don't you bug Ginny? She hasn't said anything."

"Oh, I already know what costume I want," Ginny said without looking up from a copy of the _Quibbler_, "but it's not going to be easy to get and I doubt Mum and Dad would help." She let out a resigned sigh. "I'll work it out. There's still plenty of time."

"What is it? Maybe one of us can help?" Ron offered. A smile spread across Ginny's lips.

"I think it'll be best if I keep it a secret, thanks."

"You've thought of something then, have you?" Harry asked Ron as Hermione and Ginny returned to their reading.

"Yeah, I think so. I have an idea, but I need a little bit of help," Ron explained. "With a little help from Bill or Fred and George, it'll be brilliant.

Ginny sprung from her chair and stared at Ron with an almost manic grin. "Of course. How could I forget so quickly?" Without another word she grabbed her bag and dashed out of the portrait hole.

Even Hermione looked up to try and figure out what had just happened. Ron seemed the most confused of all of them. When she returned a half hour later, she gave no explanation for her sudden exit, and refused to even meet Harry's gaze.

Sooner than he'd realized, the time for dinner approached. Harry followed his friends down to the Great Hall. As they entered the Hall, Professor McGonagall strode toward them with a stern look on her face. She handed two rolls of parchment to Ginny and Hermione. As they took them she glared at them.

"Do either of you know anything about this?"

Both of the girls returned confused looks at McGonagall, then each other.

"No," Ginny said cautiously. "Is something wrong with the D.A.?"

McGonagall pursed her lips. "No. I suppose not." She turned and walked off toward the Hufflepuff table, handing similar scrolls to Hannah and Ernie.

Ginny and Hermione frantically opened their rolls. Hermione seemed to read hers twice, not looking any less confused. Ginny was beaming.

"Do we have a quick verdict?" she whispered to Hermione. Harry looked around the Hall and watched as Hannah shrugged and nodded. Both Ginny and Hermione nodded back. With a faint tilt of her head, Hannah pointed them toward Cho who was standing at the end of the Ravenclaw table. Next to her, stood Claire, with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Hermione nodded discretely to Cho, and Cho simply turned and went to find a seat. Harry was a little confused about what he'd just seen, and it seemed that Claire felt pretty much the same way. She watched Cho walk away, then slowly followed her.

Harry walked with his friends to the table and sat down. Instead of reaching for any food, Ron seemed to stare at all of them as if he were waiting for someone to say something. When no one did, he spoke up for himself.

"Does anyone want to explain what just happened?"

Harry turned toward Ron and gave him a confused shrug. With a frown, Hermione reached into her pocket and slid the roll of parchment McGonagall had given her toward Ron. Ron picked it up and read through it quickly.

"What's this all about?" Ron asked as he read through the note. "It says that Dumbledore's given her permission to join. I thought we needed a parent's permission."

"A parent or guardian," Ginny corrected him. "Her parents were, er... in a bit of an accident. Dumbledore is her guardian."

Ron tossed the parchment back to Hermione. "Alright then, why was everyone acting so odd?"

"Not here, Ron," Hermione said curtly. Ron looked more than a little annoyed and violently stabbed a slice of roast beef while shaking his head. Harry felt better knowing that at least he wouldn't have to deal with this over dinner. However, he scolded himself for not thinking of how this would work out. He'd figured it wouldn't have been quite so much of an issue as it was. Harry tried to enjoy his dinner, but it was oddly quiet.

They all finished earlier than they normally would have, and by silent agreement, they all left while most other students were still eating. As soon as they left the Great Hall, Hermione turned to look at Harry.

"Did you have anything to do with this, Harry?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. In truth, he was fairly certain he knew what she meant, but it would be best if he explained as little as possible. Before Hermione could clarify for him, he saw someone dart toward him, and before he could even pull his wand out of his pocket they'd almost knocked him to the ground.

"Thank you, Harry!" Claire shouted as she crushed him with her slender arms. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you." While Harry was still in shock, she hopped to her toes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're brilliant." Just as quickly as she'd attacked him, she'd let go and was running up the stairs.

After Harry regained his balance, Hermione cleared her throat. "_That_ is what I mean, Harry," she said with an accusing glare. "You did this, didn't you. You did something so she could join the D.A."

"She's the new D.A. member?" Ron asked with an irritated tone. "Is that what you were doing this afternoon?"

"He did more than that," someone said from behind Harry. He turned to see who it was and saw Cho smiling and walking toward them. "McGonagall told me to tell her that Dumbledore signed her permission forms for Hogsmeade weekends as well."

Ginny said nothing, but couldn't hide the smile on her face. Cho mimicked her smile as she turned to Harry. "How'd you do it, Harry? She's pleaded with Dumbledore to sign those forms for months. She even begged me to talk to him about it. He wouldn't even talk to me, but you spend... about how long?" Cho gestured toward Ron.

"Oh, a good ten minutes, I'd say," Ron said offhand.

"You spend _a good ten minutes_ and he does everything you ask," Cho's voice started to sound a little annoyed. "Do you still have to take the N.E.W.T.s or are you all set now?"

Only Ginny was still smiling, and Harry started to feel a little defensive. He forced himself not to sound angry. "I reminded him of my third year. I can be pretty persuasive when I want to."

"I'm sure you can," Cho responded.

Ginny's voice seemed to slice through the tension which had been slowly building. "If he found a way to help her out, we should all be happy for her. If he doesn't want to tell us how he did it, then that's fine with me. If you didn't want her to join, you didn't have to agree to it."

"I _do_ want her to join," Cho replied. "I just want to know what he said to convince Dumbledore. And don't pretend like you had no part in this." Ginny opened her mouth to protest, but Hermione stopped her.

"Ginny's right. He'd tell us if he wanted to, or if he could," she added with a quick glance. "There are lots of other questions, but I don't think this is the place to discuss them. We should leave before everyone else finishes dinner."

Cho agreed, but the suspicious look on her face didn't leave as they walked to the top of the stairs. At the next corridor, she turned and walked away without a word. Harry and his friends walked silently back to the Tower. The common room was empty when they walked in.

When they'd checked that no one was hiding anywhere, Harry sat down on the couch and Ginny flopped into a nearby chair and smiled at Harry. "That was really nice of you to do that."

"Sure, it was great," Ron agreed sarcastically. "I can't wait to have her following us everywhere. I'd rather have Colin and Denis following us."

"You've never even met her, Ron. She's really quite nice."

Ron didn't respond, and instead took a seat at a table as far from Ginny as he could. When Hermione went up to her dormitory to fetch her books, Ginny leaned towards Harry and whispered, "So, how _did_ you do it?"

Harry checked over his shoulder, then whispered back to her, "I signed her forms and gave them to Dumbledore."

Ginny looked a little confused for a moment, before her eyes widened and she stared at Harry in something akin to awe. "You mean you—" She cut herself short and her lips curled into a beautiful smile before she covered it with her hands.

Ginny's laugh echoed through the room, drawing Ron's attention. He scowled at the two of them, then returned to the copy of the _Daily Prophet_ he'd been reading.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

I hear that lots of people liked the postcards from Chapter 12 (right?). If you found that amusing, you should enjoy another bit of similarly adolescent fun in the next chapter. Of course I ruin it in the end, but... well, I have my reasons.


	23. The Halloween Mask

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 23 - The Halloween Mask**

* * *

As Halloween approached, Harry felt both better and worse. Justin didn't return to Hogwarts, despite rumors that he'd mostly healed. There hadn't been any other attacks after Justin, and yet each day that passed seemed only to make Harry more certain that the next attack would come that much sooner.

He'd tried to explain his fears to Ron and Hermione, but they argued just as strongly that he was simply being paranoid. It wasn't that they didn't think there would be another attack, rather that they simply couldn't know when the next attack might be.

Harry knew that Hermione secretly worried almost as much as he did, though for different reasons. Despite outward appearances, they both knew that Halloween had usually been a day of interesting occurrences. Harry hoped this year could be as uneventful as the last.

While no one had seen any evidence that Ron had actually done anything to get the costume he claimed he'd thought of. Hermione had started to voice her doubts that he had any idea at all. With Harry, however, she was already certain that he had no idea. She'd even offered to help him find ideas, and part of him wanted to take her up on it.

Harry simply wanted to avoid the whole thing. It wasn't like they would be required to go to the Halloween Mask. He could just as easily spend the night in the Gryffindor common room watching the Marauder's Map for anything strange. The only time he'd mentioned this, Ginny had nearly attacked him.

She was quite adamant about him going to the Mask, even if he had to be wearing the worst costume there. She'd eventually stared into his eyes and pleaded with him to go. He'd reluctantly agreed to try to attend at least some part of the party.

That seemed to be enough for Ginny. Harry still had his reservations, but now the argument for him to go to the Mask was just as strong as the one to stay in the Tower.

* * *

The day of the Halloween Mask eventually came and while Harry's doubts and fears had not lessened, Hermione had been reminding him constantly that there was nothing he could do to protect anyone if he hid in his bed all evening. He knew that in these situations Hermione was almost always correct, but he nicked some sandwiches from the kitchens and hid them in his room just in case he changed his mind later.

Hermione had also been nagging him about not waiting until the last moment to pick a costume. She had been bothering Ron as well, but gave up as he was steadfast in his claim of already having a costume.

Eventually Harry had decided on a suitable costume. He would be going to the ball as Nicholas Flammel. Unlike so many other possibilities, Harry liked his choice because of its simplicity. While others were spending time finding special clothes and trying new charms (and often failing), he only had to simply turn his hair grey and find a suitable robe and hat.

Luckily, he didn't have any trouble accomplishing both of those tasks in the lone day he had before the Mask. After convincing Ron to allow him to transfigure some of his old robes, he spent an hour trying to turn a used inkwell into a facsimile of the philosophers stone. Most importantly, Harry made sure that he would be able to carry both his Mirror and his wand.

During the day's classes, the professors as a group were trying to encourage the students to attend the celebration despite the events of the last Hogsmeade weekend. Few professors were assigning any work to be done, and even Snape assigned only reading without the customary essay.

As Harry left Potions, he noticed that many of the students were already starting to make preparations for the evening. The Great Hall was closed off and the staff was busy decorating it. Even the Aurors tried to get in the spirit. As soon as the last class let out, the Aurors began transfiguring their noses and ears to look like goblins or pigs or horses. As Harry walked past one with a long multicolored beak where his nose should be, he remembered Dumbledore explaining to the D.A. how important he thought it was to keep morale up.

Unfortunately for Harry, the coming Mask only made him more anxious. All the students in costumes and milling about the Great Hall sounded too tempting for Voldemort to pass up. Without knowing how Justin was attacked, he was beginning to have doubts about the security of even Hogwarts. At least the Aurors will be there, he thought. He had already talked to the D.A. about this night and how, should anything happen, they should immediately find each other and try make sure no one is off by themselves. Everyone agreed this was a smart plan, but Harry felt that most of them were just looking forward to a night of enjoyment without classwork.

Soon, everyone retreated to their dorms to dress for the mask. Harry was back in the common room almost immediately. He sat nervously on the couch near the fire, waiting for the others to join him.

As he stared at the fire his mind wandered back to the previous year and how Sirius had talked to him from that very fireplace. Sirius was gone now, and it was Harry's fault. He'd let himself be tricked. He wondered if he simply disappeared if his friends would still be in danger.

But the flames brought back another memory, a memory of burning photos and a family killed by Voldemort. Harry was even more certain that they died because he had disappeared to the Dursleys' for the summer. Perhaps that was the key. Voldemort had told him, though he was trying to hide it. Voldemort couldn't attack him. Not yet, at least. Not at Hogwarts. Voldemort saw him as a rival and so must the Death Eaters. He would have to be killed as a rival, not simply poisoned by some mindless follower.

Harry pondered the implications of this as he stared into the flames. Voldemort would not come to Hogwarts. Not while Dumbledore was here. He would send his servants and had probably sent at least one already. His mind stumbled across an important conclusion: He was safe for now, if the Prophecy was to be believed at all. The Death Eaters wouldn't attack him.

So long as he put himself between danger and his friends, they would be safe. Despite reaching this conclusion, he was still troubled. His eagerness to protect Sirius was the thing which brought about his death. As the flames danced, he imagined them forming Sirius' smiling face, and he imagined the great black dog watching a Quidditch match, and then a cloaked Sirius walking through a tunnel, on his way to capture Wormtail.

"So you did actually decide on a costume?" Ron asked from behind him. Harry had only jumped a little, and he turned to look at his friend.

Or at least, what should have been his friend. The space where Ron's voice had come from was occupied by the large shape of a person covered in aged linen bandages from head to toe. However, from the top of its head, stray bunches of red hair poked through the wrappings.

Forgetting his previous thoughts, Harry laughed out loud making Ron grin. "That's brilliant, Ron. Your brothers helped you with that, did they?"

"Yeah, Bill got the wrappings for me, and the twins helped me figure out how to make them wrap themselves around me." Then he looked at Harry with a bit of confusion, "And...er...your costume is..."

Harry held up his used inkwell, which now looked quite like the philosopher's stone.

"...Nicholas Flammel!" Ron finished. Harry thought he caught him rolling his eyes. "Right! Well, hopefully Hermione doesn't take much longer. I'm famished."

As they waited some of the other students started appearing out of the dorms, some waiting in small groups and eventually leaving for the Great Hall. Finally, a girl appeared at the foot of the stairs. She had on a large, old-style hat that was failing to cover her bushy blonde hair. In one arm she held a large book.

Ron cocked his head to the side and turned to Harry, "You figure that's Hermione? Who else would pick a costume that involved books?"

Harry was nodding, and it was obvious a moment later when the girl walked over to them and flopped down in a nearby chair. Ron turned and gave Harry a worried, puzzled look. Harry was just as baffled as Ron was. Perhaps if he had paid more attention in Binns' class he would have had a clue who she was supposed to be dressed as. Harry simply shook his head and shrugged.

Ron looked back at her. "Great costume, Hermione."

Hermione seemed pleased and beamed as she replied politely, "Thank you, Ron." She looked a bit surprised and eventually added, "Your costume looks good, too. I'm sorry I doubted you and your brothers. I admit I feared the worst." Then she turned to Harry. "And Harry, your costume is...er..." She turned and gave Ron a look very similar to the look Ron had given Harry.

"Show her the stone Harry."

As soon as he held it up, Hermione made a face as if someone had just told her the punchline to a bad joke. "Of course. Mind if I make some minor changes, Harry?"

With a couple flicks of her wand Harry's robes were changed to a style with shorter sleeves and pants. Harry had to admit they matched the new leather boots and hat Hermione had given him. He gave his improved costume an appraising look. "Thanks, Hermione."

"Can we go now?" Ron asked standing.

"Err. I was going to wait for Ginny," Harry said with a bit of uncertainty.

"Fine. You wait for her, and we'll save you a spot." Ron replied already making his way to the door.

Hermione was covering her mouth to keep from laughing. Ron and Harry both gave her questioning looks.

"I—" Hermione started, then paused to control her mirth, "I think I'll wait for Ginny as well."

Ron looked sidelong at Hermione. "Why do I get the feeling that there is something important I haven't been told?"

But Hermione wouldn't say anything else, other than smiling and shaking her head at Harry on occasion. It confused Harry, and Ron was simply annoyed at the delay in getting to the Great Hall. Eventually they took their seats by the fire again.

"Hermione," Ron said with some impatience, "Would you go and check on my dear sister?"

"I'm right here." a voice said from nearby.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Hermione's eyes light up, and again she covered her mouth, though this time it only served to quiet the escaping laughter.

"Ginny!" Ron exclaimed. He'd jumped up, unintentionally blocking Harry's view.

He was terribly curious what outlandish costume Ginny had found to cause such a reaction, so he too stood up and walked around Ron to stand in front of Ginny.

"Hi, Harry," Ginny said with a playful smile.

Harry stood paralyzed as he looked at her. He couldn't move and he wasn't sure if he could think or not. Ginny's hair tumbled from her head in haphazard waves and curls onto her shoulders, which were bare. On her chest were two pale green shells, and her body from her hips down was a single tapering shape covered in small shiny scales and ending a pair of large fins which seemed to rest lightly on the floor.

"Well? Do you like it?" Ginny asked, as she spun around.

"Y-Yeah," Harry stammered. "I like your—er..." he started. He was about to say "shells", but remembered that Ron was standing next to him, and tried to find something less suggestive. "...your tail".

Ron's head snapped to look at Harry and Hermione dropped her book as her laughter echoed across the common room. Harry could feel himself blushing furiously.

Ginny was working hard to keep from laughing, and succeeded in only smiling at him.

"How did you convince Mum to let you wear that?" Ron asked.

"I didn't, _Ronald_." she said teasingly. "It was your idea. I asked Fred and George for help. They helped me find everything I needed." She blinked innocently at Ron. "As for Mum, she can't do anything about it. I know too much, and Harry and I are getting to be quite close friends. She'd hate it if any more of their secrets were to slip out."

Ron looked shocked, and Hermione tried to give Ginny a stern look but fell back to laughing at Harry's embarrassment.

"And the twins were willing to let it be their compensation for the new taffies from Zonko's," she said. "They just wanted to be able to see the reaction," she added with glance toward Harry. "That's what the Omnioculars over there were for. Hermione, would you hold them for me? I don't really have much room in this for them."

Hermione summoned the Omnioculars from the table they were on and put them in a bag she was carrying. "Come on," Hermione said, still smiling, "we should go." She stood and walked to the portrait hole, with Ron following her.

Ginny and Harry followed Ron and Hermione into the hallway. As the portrait closed with a click Harry was forced to blink by a flash of light. At first he thought it had been Colin taking one of his pictures, but it was followed by another flash. He tried to blink the spots from his eyes, and fell back against the wall.

Ginny was by his side immediately. "Harry, what's wrong?" Harry was dazed and his eyes seemed to follow things which didn't exist.

Harry could just barely make out the shape of a person in the shadows in his mind. They were climbing through some small hole in a cave. The image faded as the shape started walking toward a crack of light in the distance. He closed his eyes and tried to see more, but it was gone.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I—I don't know," he responded, "but you should all get your wands. We'll need the Map as well."

"I'll get my wand," Ron said as he dashed back into the common room.

"And I'll get the map," Hermione said as she went to follow him. She stopped and frowned at Ginny. "Are you going to get your wand?"

"I've already got it."

Hermione's frown was replaced by a curious look. She shook her head and then disappeared. After the portrait closed behind her, Ginny walked over to Harry. His stomach seemed to flip and twist and he started to feel a little shaky.

"What was it, Harry? What did you see?" she whispered, "You look like you saw something really horrible."

But it wasn't what he saw that was making Harry so anxious. Having Ginny that close to him made him feel distinctly uncomfortable, yet he hoped it wouldn't end.

"It was nothing, I think," he said quickly. "It felt like one of the flashes I'd get during my dreams. I couldn't really see anything. Just someone walking." Harry looked to the portrait wondering how long it would take Ron and Hermione to get back.

"I hope so," Ginny said with concern. After a pause, she smiled at Harry and leaned close to him. "So you like my tail, do you?"

"Well, I didn't mean— I— er... yeah, I guess," he said, "But er... How do you walk?"

"Oh," she giggled. "Hermione taught me a charm to make my feet invisible. They're there, you just can't see them."

Harry looked down trying to see her feet, but found himself staring at her sleek, glistening legs. The realization hit him suddenly.

"Wait— The postcard—"

Ginny laughed, "That's right, Harry, the postcard," she said laughing. "When I heard we'd need to find costumes it was the first thing I thought of." Ginny stepped closer to Harry. "You know, the Obscuring Orbs act oddly at times. Mine seemed to choose some strangely appropriate ways of hiding my letters. I wonder what you were thinking about when you sent that letter? The mermaid did look a lot like me."

Harry felt his face growing warm. He tried to look away, but kept turning back to look at Ginny's smiling face.

"I thought so."

"Ginny, are you sure you want to do this?" Harry asked, "This year... It's not going to be easy, and—"

Harry's warning was cut short by Ginny's lips pressing against his. At first he was shocked, but soon discovered that it was quite pleasant. He instinctively put his hands on her sides. She shuddered and pressed against him, and the whole world dissolved. Harry forgot where he was and didn't know how long they had been kissing before he was jolted back to reality.

"Come on, Ron, I thought you were hungry?" Hermione shouted.

"I am! This bloody cat of yours won't get out of my way!" Ron hollered from the common room.

Ginny leaped back from Harry, her face slightly flushed and a dazed look in her eyes. Hermione was looking at them strangely. Harry couldn't tell whether she was annoyed, amused, worried, or happy. She seemed to be a bit of each.

"It's a good thing I'm the one with the map," she whispered.

Harry gave Ginny a relieved look. "Thanks, Hermione."

Ron finally stumbled out of the portrait and closed it. He glanced from Ginny to Harry and then back.

"Are you okay, Ginny?" he asked. "You're shivering."

"I'm fine, Ron," she replied as she pretended to straighten her tail.

Ron frowned. "You should have known you'd be cold in that."

"I'll be fine," she said with a dismissive wave. "I'm feeling warmer already."

"Good. I'm famished. Let's get some food."

The four of them walked to the stairs to head down to the Great Hall. As they walked, Ginny took Harry's arm and held it as if he was escorting her to a ball. She flashed him an jubilant smile. Hermione noticed and gave them both a look that was an odd mixture between happiness and warning. Harry was still having trouble swallowing, and wasn't concentrating enough to worry about what Ron or anyone else might think of it.

When they reached the Great Hall, Hermione threw them another look, this one seemed more of a demand than a warning. Ginny reluctantly let go of Harry's arm.

The Great Hall was fully decorated for the night. The ceiling far above them mimicked the night sky not of the clear sky tonight, but of a eerie clouded sky with a bright gibbous moon poking through the fast moving shreds of clouds. Bats were wheeling about the room above their heads, dodging between floating pumpkin lanterns, and everywhere a dense fog hung about their heels on the floor.

They walked to the Gryffindor table and searched for a place to sit. In the middle of the table there was an opening on either side, and the four of them made their way to it.

"Oi! Neville!" Ginny called out, "Are those taken?"

Neville, who seemed to be separated from the other sixth years, nodded happily. Ron and Hermione went to one side and Harry and Ginny went to the other.

"Hello, Ginny, sit down!" Neville said excitedly. "You look amazing. You're sure to win."

"Thanks, Neville," she replied, as she sat down near him. "I'm glad you like it."

"Yeah, thanks for the seats as well, I was afraid we were going to be sitting with the first years," Harry said as he sat down between Neville and Ginny.

"No problem, Harry," Neville replied coolly.

The feast went as well as usual, and the students spent equal amounts of time eating and looking at each others costumes. Harry was trying to keep a close eye on Claire over at the Ravenclaw table. She was dressed as a water nymph, and luckily her large translucent wings made her easy to spot.

In the meantime, several boys had taken note of Ginny, and this seemed to annoy Ron quite a bit. He scowled at them. "They'll end up in the Hospital Wing if they aren't careful."

"I know some roots we can put in their food that'll make them so sick they won't even know where they are," Neville offered. He seemed annoyed as well.

"You thought it was funny when it was Harry," Hermione huffed. "Is there something different about other people looking at Ginny?" She glanced at Harry. Harry caught the purpose in her question. Did Ron suspect there was anything between him and Ginny?

"Ginny's my sister! I'm supposed to be protective of her!" he said as he reached for another chicken leg. "And besides, Harry's— well... Harry. He's practically family." He took a quick drink of pumpkin juice then continued. "You and Ginny are like his sisters. Those blokes are just leering at her."

Harry felt a pang of guilt. Either Ron didn't have a clue or he had become talented enough at lying to impress Cornelius Fudge and Gilderoy Lockhart. It wasn't helped by the giddy excitement he felt as Ginny's invisible foot rubbed against his in contradiction to her brother's words.

"Not like it matters. Harry's more interested in the Ravenclaw table," Neville said, a faint harshness in his voice. "Have your eye on someone with a better costume than Ginny? Did you even complement her on it?"

Ginny interrupted, "He did, sort of. Don't worry, Neville, I got the reaction I was hoping for."

Ron had turned to look at the Ravenclaw table. He turned back smiling. "You know Harry, after our second year, I didn't think you'd ever prefer a pixie to a mermaid."

"I think it's a water nymph, Ron," Harry replied with a smile, "and I think I still prefer the Mermaid costume." Under the table he squeezed Ginny's knee to reinforce the message. Ginny began to blush.

"Maybe it's the person and not the costume that you prefer?" Neville argued. He saw Ginny's face reddening. "Are you upset, Ginny?

"No, I'll be fine." she replied trying not to look at anyone.

The conversation drifted off to other topics and soon the food was cleared away and the tables were moved aside to make an open space for games to be played in.

Some of the games Harry had never seen played. Frog racing seemed simple enough to understand, even if he didn't understand the amount of enjoyment some of the students got from it. There were games of exploding snap and even a couple of Muggle born wizards attempting to teach the others how to play cards. Ron had walked around for a while, but eventually split off to play a game of chess with one of the seventh-years.

Harry had been sticking close to Hermione and Ginny with Neville tagging along with him. As they wandered, he kept an eye out for Claire. For a while she had been going from friend to friend, talking to each for a short time. Harry was starting to get a feeling that something odd might be happening. He looked around the room, and noticed that only one Auror was left in the room. There had been four earlier. If Claire knew something was going on, she would have told him. Harry hoped he was right, but his doubts grew.

When the Weird Sisters finally started playing, he leaned close to Hermione and pointed out the lack of Aurors. They decided to find Ron. Unsurprisingly, he was still at a table, currently playing a game of chess against a Ravenclaw who was dressed as a Quidditch referee.

"Well, the professors are all still here," he replied on hearing the news. "If something were going on, they would have told the prefects." He nudged a pawn forward, and it began taunting a nearby bishop. "I'd guess the Aurors just figured nothing is going to happen."

Hermione was sitting beside him and while satisfied with his answer, she still looked annoyed. "Are you just going to spend the night in this corner playing chess," she asked. Harry and Ginny recognized the tone of her voice.

"It looks that way," Ron replied nonchalantly.

"But you can do that any night."

"I guess, but tonight I get to beat Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and they don't know to avoid playing chess with me." His Ravenclaw opponent looked up and gave Ron an accusatory look.

"Well," Hermione replied, "That sounds terribly enjoyable." The sarcasm in her voice was unmistakable. Ginny groaned and her head slumped.

Ron hadn't missed the comment. "By the way," he said not looking up from the board, "who are you supposed to be?"

Hermione looked annoyed, "I'm Hyppolyta Stonewell! From—"

"From 'Hogwarts: A History'," Harry finished for her. "Yes, of course. I thought you looked familiar." Ginny looked up and smiled at him. Of course he'd never read the book, but he knew Hermione well enough to know what she was about to say.

"Hyppolyta Stonewell?" Ron asked, looking up from his game. "Who's that?"

"She fought for the rights of magical creatures." Hermione responded. "I'm sure Harry knows why you, in particular, should be interested in her."

Ginny laughed and looked at Harry. "I bet he does." Her invisible foot was touching his leg again.

"Er...Yeah, well...I mean— I did read about her and how she...er—" Harry said as he stalled for time.

"Right, well it's still not much of a costume, is it?" Ron interrupted.

"Oh, and what would you have suggested?" Hermione asked.

"I seem to remember a fairly convincing cat costume..." Ron said with a smile as his knight tossed an opposing rook to the floor.

"Thank you, Ron," Hermione said bitterly.

Harry and Ginny gave each other weak smiles and accepted that Harry's attempt to prevent this had failed. Neville simply looked disgruntled.

"Well, it's better than some costumes," Hermione said, casting a quick glance toward Harry. "Crabbe and Goyle are both ghouls—"

"It's hard to tell how much is a costume, really," Ginny added with a laugh.

"—And Pansy, what is she supposed to be?"

"One of the Hog's Head bar witches," Ron responded without looking up.

Everyone at the table turned to look at him, even Neville who had turned away from everyone else. The table was silent as they stared at in surprise. Ron finally noticed, and looked up to see everyone's questioning looks.

"Oh, come off it! You can't think I'm the only one who's noticed them!"

"You're the only one who recognized one from across the room while in the middle of a chess game," Harry said between laughs.

Ron turned on him. "Don't you have a third-year to flirt with?" Harry just laughed and several others nearby joined him. Hermione shook her head and looked away.

"Come on, Harry," she said, "let's let Ron finish humiliating the poor Ravenclaws. You can come, too, Ginny."

"Actually, Ginny, I wondered—" Neville started to say, but Ginny had already stood and was walking off.

"I'll see you later Neville, have fun!" Ginny called out. Neville just sat where he was and watched Ginny's hair bounce and her tail shimmer as she walked to catch up to Harry.

It was getting close to the time when the costume contest was going to start and Ginny was hopeful that she might do well. Hermione led them through the crowd toward the head table where the contest would be.

As the three of them walked out toward the center of the Hall again, by habit Harry started looking around for Claire. He didn't find her immediately, and asked Ginny to help him look for her. As they looked, Ginny grabbed his arm.

"Harry, Hermione," Ginny whispered. "Look around. I can only find Professor Sinistra. The Aurors are all gone."

Harry's stomach tightened into a ball. Was something happening? Would he see anything if something was? Harry tried to think as hard as he could. Who would be in danger? It could be anyone, but Harry's thoughts focused on just one person.

"Claire," he whispered to Ginny. "We have to find Claire."

Ginny agreed. After some weak excuses, Hermione warily agreed to helm them find her. The three of them started scanning the Great Hall for the translucent wings of Claire's costume. Harry's heart beat faster as he hoped that Claire was still in the Great Hall, but the longer he looked, the more his fear started to invade his mind.

No, he told himself, don't let it be her.

"Harry, I see her!" Hermione whispered. "She's just in a corner with her friends."

Harry's knees buckled with relief. He would have ran over to her if Ginny hadn't held him back. Instead, the three of them made their way over to the corner where Claire was. Her friends stared at him as he walked up. None of them seemed overly surprised by his presence, and yet they all kept quiet.

"Hello, Potter," she said with a smile. "I see you brought _two_ girls with you. Quite impressive."

"Well, I _am_ famous," he said returning the smile and feeling somewhat more relaxed.

"Oh? You're here looking for a third, are you?" she said innocently. "From what I hear, you're already planning on asking me to the Ball." Ginny and Hermione smiled.

"Really," he said with a thoughtful look. "Does that mean you're interested?"

"No, Harry, I don't think I am," she responded with a laugh. "I don't think I'd want to compete with anyone brave enough to date you. I'm only a third year, you know." Ginny looked at the ground, and Claire laughed again.

"I suppose you're right. It might get a bit violent. I remember how it was in my fourth year."

A few of the girls standing nearby could remember the stories about the Yule Ball that year and how the famous Harry Potter barely found a date. They joined Claire in her laughter. Behind them, the noise in the hall lessened, but it was filled with murmurs and whispers. Hermione turned to see what was going on.

"Thanks, Harry," Claire said. "You're always cheering me up. Why do you do that?"

"It's my job," he replied with a joking tone, though it was closer to the truth than she would have guessed. "Why do you need cheering up? You looked worried earlier." he asked, turning serious.

"Oh. It's probably nothing. I was looking for Celeste Warrenton. We don't know where she is."

One of her friends piped up. "Actually, we do now. She just walked in." Claire signed in relief and then smiled. Behind them the murmurs grew louder.

"Whoa..."

"Wicked!"

"She'll win for sure..."

"How'd she do that?"

Celeste Warrenton walked toward Claire, dodging tables and students. "Claire!" she called out once she past the last table, then paused as if she didn't know what to say next. "I...I have to talk to you."

Claire was as surprised as everyone around her. She stared at Celeste in awe. "Great costume, Celeste!"

Celeste gave her a funny look, which went from confused to scared. "Costume... but I didn't get a chance... er... No, wait, there was something— Where am I?" She looked dazed and talked as though she barely knew what she was saying.

Claire looked over at Harry before walking over to her friend. "What's going on?" she asked, suddenly worried by her friend's behavior.

"I don't know... I can't remember."

Harry immediately tensed. He glanced at Ginny and saw the concern in her face. He didn't like the odd way she was acting and the fact that she couldn't remember where she was or what she had meant to be doing. He turned to Hermione, and whispered the only question which didn't seem to fit in.

"Hermione, her costume— how is she doing that?"

Hermione gave a baffled shrug. "I have no idea, Harry."

Something was wrong. He could feel it. How had he missed it before? How long had it been there? He stood next to Claire and slowly addressed her friend.

"Celeste, what _do_ you remember?"

Celeste turned to answer Harry, but as soon as her eyes met his, she recoiled as if she thought Harry was going to attack her.

"No! I— You..." she stammered in a high pitched voice.

Harry took a step back and held up his hands as he tried to calm her down. "It's just me. You've seen me before. What happened? What did you see?"

The girl seemed to relax a little, but there was still fear in her eyes and she didn't take them off Harry. She tried to speak, but her voice was faint and shaky.

"I though you were... He was..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes seemed to glaze over. "It was you... except he— He was angry. He didn't want me to go. He said I couldn't..."

"Its okay, now. You're safe. Did someone attack you?" Claire asked her, giving Harry a sidelong glance.

"He told me I couldn't go. I had to stay..." Celeste started, finally taking her eyes off Harry to look at Claire with genuine concern. "He said you were in danger. He had messages for..." she trailed off, then opened her eyes as if a memory was returning. Her eyes showed her fear. "He said only I could stop it. And then he attacked me."

"Where?" Harry asked frantically. "Where was he?"

"I'll show you!" she said urgently. With that, Celeste turned and started running to the door. After running less than twenty feet, she came to an abrupt stop.

Next to Harry, Hermione's jaw dropped open. "How—" she gasped in confusion.

"Hermione," Harry said sternly, "get Dumbledore. Now."

Celeste had stopped in the middle of a large group of people, who were now staring at her with expressions similar to Hermione's. Harry could barely believe he was seeing it, but he immediately understood what it meant. She was standing in the middle of a table. She reached down to touch the table, but her hand passed right through it.

A tortured scream broke out of her throat, filled with panic, fear, and an empty, despairing sorrow.

* * *


	24. The Best Costume

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 24 - The Best Costume**

* * *

Harry waited outside the door to the Headmaster's office, as Dumbledore talked to Kingsley Shacklebolt and Celeste Warrenton. He tried to be patient, but the waiting was torture. He needed to know why she'd been attacked. Was Claire in danger? Had she happened across some hiding place? Did she overhear something? There must be some reason why she'd been killed.

But there was nothing to be done about it. He couldn't even hear anything that was being said, and he didn't doubt that Dumbledore had made sure he couldn't. Why was he even here, if he couldn't hear the same answers everyone else got? Harry wondered where Claire was, and what she might be doing. He hoped that Ginny would be with her. She shouldn't be alone.

The door to Dumbledore's office opened and Kingsley Shacklebolt motioned for Harry to join them. He quickly jumped up the last stairs and walked into the room. There were more people than he'd realized. Dumbledore, Kingsley and Celeste were there, but so were Professor Flitwick, a number of Aurors, and to Harry's surprise, Nearly Headless Nick.

"Come in, Harry, sit down," offered Dumbledore. He looked slightly angry.

Harry walked over to an empty chair, and sat down. Celeste was standing on the other side of the room, passing her hand through the back of another chair. She looked up and her eyes locked on Harry's with a sorrow he couldn't stand to see.

"She was attacked in the courtyard, we believe," Dumbledore began, "by someone in dark robes."

"A Death Eater," Harry commented.

"Not everyone who wears dark robes is a Death Eater, Harry," Kingsley countered.

"She said that she left her common room before the party to help a friend with their costume. She needed to go to the greenhouses to find one of the flowers. After a quick stop at the library for a book on the plant, she left the castle," continued Dumbledore. "One of the Aurors claims to have seen a ghost outside the front door just before Miss Warrenton walked into the Great Hall. It seems most likely that she was attacked while walking back to the greenhouses."

Harry sat and simply listened as various people added other bits of information. Celeste simply stood and silently listened as if she were listening to a story about someone else. It seemed that she didn't know much more than Harry did.

The Aurors were still searching for her body and this seemed to trouble her. It worried Harry, too. Why couldn't they find it? When they did, would there be a lightning bolt scar on it like Justin and Crabbe? Harry couldn't imagine why anyone would have attacked her because of him. He'd met her only once, and never spent much time talking to her.

"Do you remember anything else about the person who attacked you?" Kingsley asked. "Did he come from behind you, or did he come from the castle?"

Celeste said nothing for a moment, the slowly started to try and explain what she remembered. It was apparent that she didn't remember much. "I don't know where he came from. I was looking for something, and he just... appeared, right in front of me. He was very angry."

Her explanation was slow and halting, as if she were trying to remember a dream. It was nearly impossible to understand what had happened. The only consistent detail she gave was just how angry the wizard was.

"You said he gave you a message," Dumbledore prompted her.

"He told me I had to tell her... I had to tell Claire that she was the last. She's in danger. He didn't like her. He said such horrible things."

Dumbledore sat down at his desk, his hands clasped tightly on top of a stack of parchment. "That will be all, Miss Warrenton, you may go."

"Go where?" she asked, clearly close to crying. "Where am I supposed to go? What do I do?"

"You may go wherever you wish," the Headmaster answered.

"I want to go where everyone else goes," she sobbed. "I don't want to stay here and have them come up with horrible names for me. What will they call me? Sobbing Celeste? Whining Warrenton?"

Dumbledore frowned. "Sir Nicholas, if you would—"

"Right, then," Nick said tenderly. "We'll be off. Come along, Miss Warrenton, it's really not as bad as it seems at first. And you're not bad off. Why, I remember one bloke who lived to one hundred eighty-seven. Choked to death on a roast pig. Quite a tragedy, really. I heard it was roasted perfectly."

Celeste stared at him, and reluctantly walked over to follow him. Nick smiled brightly. He rested a hand on her shoulder and pulled her along.

"The old prune could barely walk. He's still tottering around a castle in Wales, I'd wager. He'd like to leave, but it'd be years before he could get anywhere else," Nick laughed. "There you go, right through the wall. Leads to the kitchen store room. The elves always love visitors."

Celeste slowly walked through the wall, leaving Nick in Dumbledore's office.

"She'll be alright," he said cheerily. "Maybe I'll introduce her to that touchy bint in the bathroom," he added quietly, "Perhaps a friend would finally shut her up."

Once she'd left the discussion turned quite a bit more serious. Harry didn't even catch everything that was said and discussed. The Aurors argued about where she might have been killed. Professor Flitwick had talked for some time about Claire and how she could be kept safe

No one asked why the girl had been attacked. Harry didn't ask either. He already knew. Voldemort knew that Harry was Claire's godfather. He was just finishing the task he'd started at the end of August, and he'd used Celeste to tell Harry and Claire what was coming.

That night, Harry endured another night of restless, nightmare-filled sleep. In his dreams he could see a girl running from Death Eaters. She never escaped. She would run and run until one of them finally tripped her or pushed her or struck her with some curse.

Every time she fell, a wispy shape would rise and scream the same desperate, sorrowful wail that had escaped Celeste's throat that evening.

Just like so many of his dreams before, the same sequence repeated itself over and over again, each time slightly different than the last. At first, it was always Celeste who was being attacked, but then it changed, so that it was Claire who was running for her life. He watched over and over as she fell, only to rise again and stare at him with hate filled eyes.

It was almost too much for Harry to handle, and then the dream changed again. He noticed the switch almost immediately. Instead of watching he was running now, but he was chasing the Death Eaters instead being chased by them. He could hear the distinct sound of a girls shoes running ahead of the firm, heavy chorus of boots hitting stone behind her. He ran after them, knowing he would never catch them, and waiting for the inevitable.

A bright flash of green illuminated the hallway in eerie relief, then died away. The Death Eaters had stopped, and Harry walked up behind them. Suddenly a ghostly shape slipped through them toward Harry.

"No..." he said aloud. "It's just a dream. This isn't happening."

"It's okay, Harry. I believe in you."

Harry backed away from it. It was just a dream. This wasn't real, it wasn't a vision. The ghost, however, didn't seem to care. She advanced on Harry, smiling gently, giving him a piteous look. Her face, her eyes, and even her voice were all Ginny's.

"Don't be upset, Harry. I understand. There are so many of us. You couldn't save us all."

Harry jerked awake, but immediately shut his eyes and pressed his hands to his forehead. He tried to convince himself that it hadn't been a vision. They were just nightmares. He couldn't see any shapes in the darkness of his closed eyes, and his scar didn't hurt or even feel warm.

Still, it had been a deeply troubling dream and he was in no hurry to get out of bed and face the day. Slowly, he decided he should at least try to figure out how early in the morning it was. He rubbed his eyes and stared into the dim light of his shrouded bed, and into the translucent face of Celeste Warrenton.

Harry gasped and jumped back, hitting his head on the headboard. Celeste Warrenton was standing in the middle of the bed, staring at him. When Harry felt his heart start beating again, he opened his eyes again.

"What did I do? Why did this happen to me?" she asked faintly.

"I— I don't know," Harry answered instinctively. He had a guess, but it didn't really make all that much more sense than any other reason.

"You don't? I thought you might understand," she said. "I felt... He's in you both. He was very angry."

"Who is in me?" Harry whispered as he sat up and straighted his pajamas.

"The Dark Lord," Celeste answered in a hollow voice. "He said I couldn't go, that I had to stay. He said he'd kill her if I didn't. I told her. I never wanted to say. I want to leave. Why can't I leave?"

"I don't know," Harry answered as two silvery tears trickled down her face.

Her face was filled with pain and sadness. "I thought... I thought you might understand why. Nick said I shouldn't... I'm sorry. I should go."

Before Harry could say or do anything else, Celeste had walked forward through the wall behind him, leaving him alone in his bed. He lost his desire for breakfast or anything else. Sitting alone in his bed, Harry tried to understand what was happening.

This attack was different than the others. Crabbe and Justin both had scars. Harry had seen both of them attacked. Both of them had angered him in some way. And both of them were still alive. Why had Celeste been killed? Why hadn't the Aurors even found the body yet?

Something didn't feel right about it. It felt different in a way Harry couldn't describe. Had Voldemort changed his tactics again? It only made Harry a little guilty to think that one dead girl was better than any one of the attacks that summer. And yet, it wasn't like anything that Voldemort had done. The summer attacks had all been quite deliberate. Voldemort had wanted Harry to see them, but he hadn't done that this time. Harry sat and thought about it until his head hurt. There were still no answers, but he was certain there was something important he must be missing.

He decided not to go down for breakfast. Hermione had Arithmancy immediately after breakfast every Friday, but there really wasn't any reason why Harry or Ron had to join her every week. She would be fine if only Ron were there.

Harry found his watch and checked the time. Everyone would be leaving for breakfast soon. He told himself that he just didn't want to deal with everyone's questions. In truth, he was more afraid of facing Claire, or simply having to see her. Celeste had been her best friend, and one of the last friends she really had.

The hours passed and Harry stayed in his bed. At some point Seamus and Dean walked in for a moment, and then left immediately. Without anything better to do, Harry sat in the middle of his bed and relaxed, slipping into the empty trance he used to practice Occlumency. It was harder than he had remembered it being for some time. After some unknown length of time, Harry realized that for the first time he actually wanted to know what his visions might tell him.

Had Occlumency kept him from seeing anything from the attack the previous night? Had he missed something while he'd been focusing on Ginny? He tried to think back and remember if he'd even felt the slightest hint of a vision, but there was nothing. There was only the quick flashes of what had to be Voldemort, but Voldemort hadn't been outside Hogwarts. It had to be separate.

Another check of his watch told him that Hermione would be at Arithmancy by then. It wouldn't be long before he would have to get ready for Herbology. Even the thought of a class no longer sounded bearable to him. He wanted to simply spend the weekend in his bed. Maybe if he refused to interact with anyone, no one would be in any danger. Perhaps that was the best course of action. If it wasn't safe away from Hogwarts, maybe they could simply hide him somewhere safe. Hagrid could even have Fluffy to guard him, that way Hermione and Ron would still be able to visit him if they liked.

The door to the room opened suddenly, making Harry jump a little. It closed a second later, and Harry heard footsteps walking across the floor. Neville usually spent Friday mornings in the greenhouses, so it could only be Ron. Harry debated talking to him, or pretending to be asleep or ill.

With a flash of blinding light, the bed curtains were ripped open, but the person standing in the light wasn't Ron, but Hermione.

"Hermione!" he scolded her as he straightened his pajamas. "What are you doing?"

"Waking you up," she replied firmly.

"So you just opened the bed curtains? What if I wasn't dressed?"

Hermione looked away for a moment and stifled a laugh. "I'm sorry," she apologized. She cocked her head to the side, and smiled at him. "How often do you sleep starkers, Harry?"

"That's not the point," Harry argued as he searched for his dressing gown. "You didn't even ask. What if someone else was with you?"

With a tug, Hermione pulled the curtains back even further to reveal a red-faced Ginny who was hiding her eyes behind one of her hands. Harry felt as if he was paralyzed for a moment, then slowly he felt the color rising in his face. Hermione tossed him his dressing gown and he quickly pulled it on. Once he was able to get out of bed, he glared at Hermione who was still fighting a losing battle against her own laughter.

"Oh relax, Harry," she said, finally controlling herself. "Bill wears less than that, and he never put on a dressing gown for breakfast." Harry didn't see how that was at all similar to this situation. It seemed that Hermione did. "After all, Ginny is just a sister to you, remember?"

Harry and Ginny didn't seem to find the same amount of humor in it as Hermione did. Ginny walked off to the window where she sat and stared out the window. Harry turned and glared at Hermione. "So you skived off Arithmancy to make sure I'm awake?"

"Class was canceled," Hermione said in a more serious voice.

"Alright, so you decided to come here to make sure I made it to Herbology? Or were you just hoping to make me horribly embarrassed?"

"Herbology is canceled as well," Ginny announced from the window.

Harry ran his hand through his hair. "So why exactly did you come here? To tell me that it was fine if I slept until lunch? Or are all the classes canceled, and you came to tell me I didn't have to wake up at all?"

Hermione gave Ginny a quick look, but Ginny didn't give any sign that she noticed. "We came to make sure you were alright, Harry. No one had seen you since last night, and well... we wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Ah, well, I suppose I'm alright," Harry said as he sat down on the edge of his bed. "A girl died last night for no reason and I didn't have any idea that anything happened, despite the fact that I seem to be connected to _all_ of the attacks. I have no idea how or why it happened, but she still woke me up to ask me why she died. So, I guess if that's what you mean by 'alright', then, yes, I'm extremely alright."

"We were just worried..."

"Thanks. I'm plenty worried for all of us," Harry said bitterly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to try and get some sleep before Transfiguration."

Hermione grimaced and spoke up in a meek voice. "Er... Transfiguration is canceled too."

Harry simply nodded. "Right then. All my classes are canceled, and you came by to see if I'd been dragged off by trolls. Thanks, Hermione. Did you do this on your own, or did McGonagall suggest it?"

"Actually it was..." Hermione started, but trailed off. "It was a bunch of us."

Harry was skeptical. If she was worried about him, why didn't she just send Ron? "And McGonagall and Dumbledore had no part in it?"

"Dumbledore hasn't left his office and McGonagall left this morning. That's why Transfiguration is canceled."

Harry felt his jaw drop as he gaped at Hermione. "She left? What are we supposed to do in Transfiguration? How is Dumbledore supposed to find another professor after all this?"

"No, Harry. She left the castle. Professor McGonagall and Vector left to go talk to the girl's parents," she explained. "They're Muggles, so they couldn't really send Flitwick."

"So why is Herbology canceled?"

"The Aurors are searching the area around the greenhouses for evidence of the attack."

Harry slumped in defeat. He knew he wouldn't be going back to sleep. He didn't even really want to. He'd just wanted to not have to worry about any more attacks. "Did they find anything?"

Hermione frowned. "No. Kingsley told us he doesn't even think they're looking in the right place. He said he wanted to talk to you and ask if you'd seen anything."

Harry tried to explain it to them. He hadn't seen or felt anything. He'd only felt the few flashes of images earlier that night, but he hadn't seen anything more, and it probably wasn't even related to the attack. Hermione was obviously disappointed.

"You didn't feel anything else? Were you trying to block everything out?"

"No, I was a little distracted," Harry admitted. Hermione glared at Ginny, who had looked up after Harry's comment.

"Don't start with me," she warned Hermione. "You spent the entire night glancing over at Ron, too."

"Yes, but he wasn't nearly as distracting as you were, was he?" Hermione replied.

Harry took a deep breath. The day was off to a horrible start. He'd barely slept, he'd woken up to a ghost standing in his bed, and now his friends were bickering. More than ever, Harry wanted to stay in his bed and never leave. He already knew it would not be possible. If what Hermione said was true, it would only be a matter of time before the Aurors came looking for him. If he didn't have any classes to attend, he might as well go find them.

He kicked Ginny and Hermione out of the room and found some clothes. After a quick shower, he found Ron and Hermione waiting for him in the common room. They convinced him to come down to lunch, promising that it wouldn't be as bad as he expected it to be.

To his surprise they were right. Ginny was there waiting, and looking more than a little disgruntled. She didn't say or do anything to explain it and before Harry had a chance to ask about it, she was back to her normal self.

None of them talked about what had happened the previous night, and so far as Harry could tell, no one else was. The professors were conspicuously absent, but that seemed only to make the Hall quieter. When they left, no one made any comments. As they walked toward the stairs and Auror stopped them.

Harry reluctantly agreed and let the Auror lead him toward the Trophy Room. As Hermione had warned him, Kingsley Shacklebolt was sitting in a large leather chair, looking more than a little grumpy. However, Hermione hadn't said that Severus Snape was going to be there as well. Snape's lips curled in a silent snarl as Harry approached. Harry felt his shoulders tense in response. He suddenly had a bad feeling.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Harry hissed at Kingsley.

"I believe Severus —Professor Snape— has special... knowledge which may help us understand what has happened."

"I suppose it is hard to find anyone who's killed someone else around here," Harry mumbled. It wasn't quiet enough for Snape to miss it, and Harry saw the anger flashing in his eyes.

"I don't really have time for that discussion, Harry," Kingsley interjected as he conjured a chair for Harry. "I need to know what you saw and felt last night."

Just as he'd done with Ginny and Hermione, he tried to explain that he hadn't had any clues that anything had been happening. The best he could say was that he had the feeling that Voldemort was planning something. Snape snorted and whispered something in Kingsley's ear which seemed to annoy the Auror. He turned back to Harry.

"You're certain? I'm not trying to accuse you of anything. Is there some reason why you can't tell me?" he asked, pressing Harry for an answer.

He should have expected something like this. When he did see things, no one ever believed him, and yet if he saw nothing, everyone complained about him not telling them what he'd seen. He repeated what he'd said earlier: he hadn't seen or felt anything.

Snape bristled at Harry's response. "There hasn't been an attack for over a year that you haven't had some notice of," he snarled. "What are you hiding, Potter? There must be some reason you won't claim the fame you feel you deserve." Snape stepped close to Harry and spoke, slowly though his clenched teeth, "It would be better for you if you told us before I find out."

Harry scowled back at him but said nothing. Kingsley seemed annoyed with both of them. "Severus," he growled, "Would you step out, please?"

"He's a trained Occlumens. He is not to be trusted—"

The Auror cut him off, and pointed sternly to the door. Once Snape had left, Kingsley returned to the original question.

"No. I didn't see anything. And I never left the Great Hall. I spent the entire night with Hermione and Ginny."

Shacklebolt's eyes perked up at the name. "Ginny? Ginny Weasley?"

Harry nodded, and tried to change the subject as quickly as possible. His best guess was that he'd simply become too good at blocking Voldemort from his mind. Of course, that didn't really seem to fit, considering that it had never helped before. Shacklebolt seemed to accept it, though.

He rattled off a number of questions next, and Harry gave prompt responses to each of them: he had only talked to Celeste once or twice, he'd met her through one of Ginny's friends, and he hadn't had any vision since then.

Shacklebolt had been visibly disappointed with the lack of information that Harry had provided. He gave Harry a brief description of their situation. In short, they'd found absolutely nothing. There was no body, no tracks, no witnesses, and no clues at all. They didn't even know when it took place other than sometime between an hour or so before the start of the Mask and the moment she appeared in the Great Hall.

Harry left feeling as encouraged as the Aurors. Snape was still convinced that Harry had been hiding something, even if it had been impossible for him to have had any part in the attack. Harry was certain that he hadn't heard the last from Snape about the attack, but at the moment it wasn't something he was willing to worry about.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny were all waiting for him when he returned to Gryffindor Tower. "I need to talk to the D.A.," he announced quietly as he sat down.

"There's a meeting planned for seven o'clock," Hermione answered promptly.

* * *

Harry stood in the center of the Room of Requirements as the last D.A. members took seats in a rough semicircle around him. He'd spent most of the afternoon trying to think of how to explain this. What would happen to the D.A.? What would the Aurors say when they heard what he'd done? He tried to push those thoughts from his head. They all should know. He didn't want to make the same mistake Dumbledore had made with him. After a deep breath, he started.

"There are Death Eaters hiding near Hogwarts." He'd hadn't expected them to bolt from the room, but he was surprised by the silence generated by his announcement. The members might not have been vocal, but he could see the fear and sudden uncertainty in many of their faces. After a pause to let everyone attention drift back to him, he continued.

"The professors and Aurors already know. They don't know how many, but it can't be all that many of them. Probably just a few. No one believes me, but I'm certain they were behind the attacks on Crabbe and Justin."

"And Celeste?" someone called out from the back. Harry glanced at Claire before answering.

"Yeah. Her too." He ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "When we started this, all we wanted to do is learn all the things Umbridge wouldn't teach us. When Dumbledore talked to us that first meeting, we were just supposed to help keep watch. It wasn't supposed to be dangerous."

"They're attacking students. This is all a bit more serious than we'd expected, and it will probably get worse. If any of you don't wish to be a part of this anymore, it's fine. You can leave if you like. I... I don't want anyone to get hurt because they didn't know what to expect." No one stood up, and no one made any move for the doorway.

"Enough of that," Ernie commented from where he stood against the far wall. "What are we learning tonight?"

Harry pulled his wand from his pocket. "Shield Charms," he announced.

* * *


	25. False Accusations

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 25 - False Accusations**

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, the mood around Hogwarts returned to normal, though only very slowly. There were many more hushed conversations, and Harry heard Cedric Diggory mentioned more times than he had been throughout all of last year.

The D.A. meetings seemed to take on a slightly different feeling as well. As a whole, the members were a little more eager to learn anything that might protect them. There were a number of new members, including a pair of young Slytherins who were brought in by Blaise Zabini. They were apparently not well liked by some of their house-mates, and didn't want to end up like Crabbe.

The other students were a little less trusting. It wasn't like his second year, but many of the students had started to avoid him when they could. Mostly it was just the students who he barely knew to begin with. No one had openly accused him of doing anything to Celeste or Crabbe or Justin, since there were always plenty of people who could say they'd seen him during the time of the attacks. Instead, people seemed to treat him as if he was simply bad luck.

The one person who seemed unaffected by all of this was Professor Snape. He'd been treating Harry horribly ever since Kingsley Shacklebolt had talked with him. He'd been glaring at when he saw him around the castle, and Harry was convinced that Snape had been following him more than once.

Nearly two weeks after Halloween, Harry was still waking up early. He had simply accepted the nightmares as a part of sleeping, but he didn't enjoy sleeping in as much as he had before. On Wednesdays, he would go down to breakfast early so he could spend the morning looking over the chapter for Potions, and this day had started the same as the week before, at least until Ron joined him.

"Snape's looking for you, mate," Ron announced groggily as he sat down next to Harry. "I told him where you were. I hope it's not a problem." Harry shook his head. There really wasn't any reason for Snape to care where he was. Ron reached for some sausages and kept explaining. "I wanted to tell him to piss off, but he seemed to think you were sneaking about the castle. I figured it would be better to show him what a git he was."

Harry just shook his head. It was a bad sign. Wednesdays were never his best days. Ending the day with Snape never made for very cheery evenings. If Snape was already in a poor mood, it certainly wouldn't make things any easier.

That day Snape entered the classroom in an even worse mood than Ron had told Harry to expect. He scowled more than he ever did, and he seemed to glare at Harry with more disgust than he had for quite some time.

He spent the first part of the class period orally quizzing the class on the pair of restoration potions they were to make that day. Harry seemed to get more questions asked of him than any other student, and he felt they were purposefully the most difficult questions Snape was asking.

However, again and again, Harry kept getting the questions correct, even if they weren't the exact words Snape wanted. The professor critiqued every answer making whatever corrections he could, but with every answer he seemed to get more an more annoyed.

Snape wasn't the only one in class getting upset. Harry felt quite harassed by all the questions, and was beginning to wonder if it might have been better to intentionally give the wrong answer to one of the questions. Before he could get the chance, however, Snape threw open one of his cabinets and walked out of the room, telling all the students that he expected the first potion complete in only twenty minutes.

Everyone rushed to the cabinet, trying to make sure that they wouldn't be the target of Snape's foul mood when he came around to check their progress on the potion.

Harry and Hermione worked as feverishly as the rest of the class, but Harry had already looked this potion over twice, and between the two of them, they barely needed the instructions at all.

When Snape returned from his office, Harry and Hermione had already finished the potion, and Harry was busy crushing up a pile of roots for the more complex second potion. When Snape saw what he was doing, he stopped berating a pair of Hufflepuffs and strode over to where Harry and Hermione were working.

"Can you not even follow simple instructions, Potter?" Snape said with smooth malice. "I clearly said that you should start with the instructions on page one-hundred eighty-two. That will be five points from Gryffindor."

Hermione stopped stirring the cauldron of crimson liquid in front of her, and looked at Harry in shock. Harry was equally confused.

"Excuse me, sir," he said in an even voice, trying not to let his anger show, "but we've already finished that one. The cauldron is over there."

Harry pointed to a small cauldron of silvery liquid that was giving off wisps of faint blue vapor. It was looked almost identical to the picture in the textbook. Snape however, seemed to see more differences than Harry could.

"I see," he sneered. "You were so assured of your perfection, that you decided to show off by starting the next potion." Harry shook his head in frustration. He was certain that Snape would have been just as angry if he hadn't finished the potion. There was nothing he could do, but his annoyance at the constant attacks was getting to be too much.

"Tell me, Potter," Snape continued as he circled around the table to stand directly in front of Harry. "What is your purpose for being in my class?"

"I need it if I want to become—" Harry stopped short. He wasn't sure he wanted Snape to know about his plans to become an Auror.

"Yes?" Snape prompted.

"It's required for the career I've chosen."

"Really," Snape replied with a malevolent gleam in his eyes. "I didn't realize you could make a career out of ignoring rules and authority. Please tell us what use you might have for Advanced Potions. Perhaps you could write an essay on how you plan on using your knowledge from this class to aid you in living off your undeserved fame?"

Harry put down the large mallet he had been using to crush the roots and opened his mouth to speak. At the last moment, he felt a sharp but light kick to his ankle. He turned to see Hermione giving him a warning look.

"No? Is there some other nobler profession which might require your hopeless potion-making skills?"

"I"m going to be an Auror," Harry blurted out, no longer caring who knew or what Snape might do about it. The news seemed to catch Snape by surprise for a second. The moment quickly passed and Harry watched the anger growing behind Snape's eyes.

"Of course. I should have guessed. An appropriate choice for the Great Harry Potter. I suspect you'll be excellent at taking credit for the work of all the other Aurors. Of course you'd never even make it a year without everyone else to do the hard work for you."

"I've managed well enough so far," Harry shot back, knowing it wasn't helping.

"You were lucky."

"At least I was on the right side."

Of all the things Harry could have said to Severus Snape, this was perhaps the worst choice. The effect of the words was immediate. Students around the room dropped ladles and knives to stare at Harry. Snape's face emptied of all color as he stared intently at Harry.

"You... How— How dare..." Snape shouted. "The day you become an Auror will be the last day I spend here!"

"Well at least Hogwarts will finally get a decent Potions Professor!" Harry shouted back.

Snape's wand was out in a second, and the potion disappeared in a flash. The second potion vanished a moment later.

"We shall see, won't we?" Snape said, seething with rage. "Out! All of you! Leave NOW!"

"Now, I do think Snape was being quite unfair," Hermione said as the students walked away from the Potions classroom, "but I think you might have handled that a little better."

"I figured that part out, thanks." Harry frowned and adjusted his bag on his back.

Most of the students gave Harry somewhat sympathetic looks. However, some of them seemed much less forgiving of the fact that they had worked so long for nothing, not to mention the reminder of why their professor had been in a bad mood for months.

"He doesn't even need a job," he heard one Ravenclaw say to Theodore Nott, "I swear he's just here to be difficult. Why else would he take the class? Everyone knows he and Snape hate each other."

Harry wondered how many other students had been thinking the same thing and how many of them ignored it simply because they didn't like Snape, either. It wasn't really a new situation to Harry. He'd almost grown accustomed to people talking about him behind his back. If all they were saying this time was that he hated Snape and was purposefully trying to annoy him, he could deal with it.

Harry tried to ignore it and enjoy dinner, but out of the corners of his eyes he saw people looking at him, and he caught little bits of conversation floating across the Great Hall. More people were talking about what had happened between him and Snape. Harry glanced worriedly at the empty seats where Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall would have been sitting had they been at the meal.

It wasn't abnormal for professors to be absent from a meal, but Harry felt a particular sense of foreboding at the sight of all three of their chairs empty. It barely came as a surprise when he heard the voice from behind him.

"Please come with me Mr. Potter," McGonagall announced. "You will be given food later."

Ron winced and glared over at the Slytherin table. Harry turned to see what had caught his attention and saw Draco Malfoy looking smug while Crabbe and Goyle laughed openly.

"Never mind them, Potter," McGonagall ordered. "We'll be going to my office. I'm certain you know the way."

Harry fumed as he walked the length of the tables toward the door. What was he supposed to do? Snape spent every class period needling and harassing him. If he fought back, he lost points for Gryffindor and ended up serving detentions. If he didn't, he got lower marks on his (and Hermione's) work, and only allowed the treatment to continue.

When he reached Professor McGonagall's office he tried to tell her just that. He related a dozen different occurrences from the past months, talking as quickly as he could, hoping that something he'd say would convince her to think twice about whatever Snape might have said.

"That's enough," McGonagall said, stopping him. "I am not unfamiliar with what has been happening in your Advanced Potions class."

"You're not?" Harry replied. What was he here for? Was he still going to be punished for standing up for himself?

"No, I am not. However, that will not change the fact that you have detention to serve."

"Detention?" Harry felt the familiar throb of anger in his head. "Why? What did I do? The potion was fine. I answered all of his questions. He had decided before I even walked in the room that I would leave with detention. What was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know, Potter, but I'm certain that implying your professor was a Death Eater was not your best course of action."

"Wasn't he?" Harry replied rebelliously.

"That information should not be shared so freely," McGonagall scolded. "Few people have access to that knowledge, and it is in _your_ best interest to keep that secret. Had you not done that, I might have been able to convince the Headmaster that you had been wrongly punished —and wrongly treated. As it stands, you have a night of detention to serve."

Harry tried to complain. He knew that a night of detention with Snape would only make things worse. One night would become two, and every detention he served would only sour Snape's mood for the next class.

"I quite agree, and so did Professor Dumbledore," McGonagall interrupted. "And so, against the wishes of Severus Snape, you will serve detention with me, immediately."

Harry didn't have much of a choice, and it was a much better option than serving detention with Snape. A house elf (but not Dobby) popped in to drop off a plate of sandwiches and some juice while Harry cleaned up the Transfiguration classroom. Whatever the last class had been doing, it must have been a very interesting lesson.

It took Harry some time and his mood declined the more cleaning he did. Snape's stupid grudge had put him here. Maybe Harry's father had been a prat, but there wasn't anything Harry could do about that. It was unfair. Harry never had a chance. Snape had despised him from the first moment he saw him.

From behind him, Harry heard someone enter the room. He tossed the last broken goblet into the sack in his hand and turned to see who it was. The sack hit the floor with a series of dull ringing tones. In the doorway stood Severus Snape with a look of brooding anger.

"Is there something I can help you with, Professor Snape?" McGonagall asked quickly.

"I was on my way back from an errand, and I thought I would make sure that Potter wasn't causing any trouble."

"I can assure you he is not." McGonagall's lips were pale and pressed together tightly as she walked over to him. "If there isn't anything else—"

"There is."

"Very well then, Harry, I believe you've done an acceptable job. You may leave so long as you return directly to your common room." McGonagall flicked her wand and the sack of goblets flew to her desk. Harry walked for the door, trying to avoid looking at Snape. He couldn't tell if the throbbing in his head came from his forehead or the muscles in his jaw which seemed to be trying to pulverize his own teeth.

"Wouldn't it be appropriate for _Mr. Potter_ to apologize for his... insubordination?"

"I don't think that will be necessary," McGonagall said curtly.

"Perhaps he would behave better if he was made to apologize for all of his arrogant, insulting behavior."

"He's served his detention," McGonagall continued as she slowly put herself between Harry and Snape. "I'd much rather he—"

"I'm sorry."

Snape and McGonagall both turned to stare at Harry. He ignored the twinge in his scar and stalked toward a very surprised Severus Snape.

"I'm sorry that the potion was made so well. I'm sorry that I answered all your questions correctly. I'm sorry that I'd get better marks than any of the Slytherins if you'd treat me fairly."

Snape was shaking with rage. "You get the marks you deserve!"

"I'm sorry that you were never as good as my father. I'm sorry that you failed at being a Death Eater. I'm sorry that you failed at being a good spy, and that you've failed at it again."

"Potter!" McGonagall shouted. "Go to your common room immediately!"

Harry charged past both of them, his anger boiling inside him. He strode down to the end of the hall, turned a corner and barreled into Clarence Stafford, knocking him off balance and making him fall to the floor.

"Potter?" he said as he got back on his feet. "What's going on? We heard shouting."

"Well, you missed it," Harry said testily and walked on without looking back. He heard echoes of an argument between Snape and McGonagall. Feeling drained and numb, he walked toward Gryffindor Tower. He wanted to forget the whole day. He watched another pair of Aurors run past him.

Maybe the other students weren't so far from the truth. He really didn't want to be in Potions, but he'd never be an Auror if he wasn't. He didn't want to cause problems, but he did. Now McGonagall and Snape were fighting. Perhaps Snape and Dumbledore had been arguing earlier. It seemed that he caused conflict and danger wherever he went.

When he got to the common room, he headed straight for the stairs. A number of students near the door greeted him. Ron called out from the couch, questioning what he'd been doing for the past three hours. Hermione, sitting next to him, gave him a worried look from over her Arithmancy book. Harry ignored them all. As he reached the first step, he heard loud footsteps coming down from the girls' dormitories.

"Harry!"

He paused on the third step. It had been Ginny's voice. He wanted to ignore her like the rest, but his feet had already betrayed him, and a moment later he was back on the first step, looking into Ginny's concerned eyes.

"Was it detention with Snape?" she asked quietly.

"No. McGonagall," he answered, "but Snape stopped by to demand an apology. It didn't go well."

"More detention?"

"Not yet."

Ginny took a step closer, conscious of the number of people watching them. "Are you okay? You look... pale."

"I'm fine," Harry said flatly.

"Do you want to go find a book to read, or..."

"I can't. I'm to stay in the Tower. It doesn't matter. I'm going to bed."

"You're what?" Ron asked as he walked toward Harry. "It's a bit early, isn't it?"

"I don't plan on sleeping." Harry turned and briefly caught Ginny's eyes. They looked worried. He felt instantly guilty. For an instant his expression changed to one of apology, before it disappeared as he turned again and headed up the stairs. As he walked, he heard Ron talking at the foot of the stairs.

"Rough day, I guess," he mumbled. "He ignored me completely. I wonder why he stopped for you."

Harry didn't want to even think about trying to answer that question at the moment, so he climbed the stairs, pulled off his robes, got into his pajamas, and pulled the bed curtains around his bed. He'd ignored Ron and Hermione, and even Snape, but at the moment the throbbing in his scar refused to be ignored. He couldn't help thinking something terribly important was about to happen.

* * *

Harry awoke quite tired the next day. He'd been honest with Ron, and while everyone had assumed he was sleeping, he'd been lying awake trying to close off his mind and make the pain go away. It didn't work, so the sleep he did get was short and restless.

He was awake before anyone else in his dormitory, so he quietly stepped out, cleaned up and waited by the fire in the common room for any of his friends to come down for breakfast. It took longer than he expected, but eventually Ron climbed down, straightening his Robes. He said nothing about the previous night, and seemed content to talk about the latest Quidditch matches while they waited for Hermione.

When she came down with Ginny, the four of them walked calmly off to the Great Hall. Only Hermione had a bag with her, since neither Harry nor Ron had any class until Care of Magical Creatures later in the day. Upon reaching the Great Hall, they were greeted by Draco Malfoy glaring at Harry with gleeful malice.

"Get out of our way, Malfoy," Ron said as they walked up to him.

"You've done it this time, Potter," Malfoy said quietly. Harry groaned, thinking of what he'd said to Snape the night before.

"Done what?" Ron asked.

"Oh, I'm sure you know what he did. You probably helped him."

"Helped me?" Harry asked. "How could they have helped me? All I did was tell Snape the truth. I don't need them to help me, and they didn't even know I was serving detention."

Draco just smiled. "That's right, Potter. Just act innocent. Dumbledore still might believe you."

"Come on, Harry," Ron said as he pulled Harry into the Great Hall and toward Gryffindor's table. When they got to the table, Ron picked some seats at the far end of the table near the head table where many of the Professors were already eating. He sat across from Harry. Hermione sat next to him, leaving Ginny to stand awkwardly before sitting down next to Harry.

"What was that about?" Ron whispered.

Harry frowned and poured himself some milk. "Like I told Ginny last night, Snape stopped by when I was finishing my detention. He acted like himself, and I said some things I shouldn't have."

"Again?" Hermione moaned as she spread preserves over her toast.

"I don't much care anymore, Hermione."

Hermione frowned at the tone of his voice, but seemed more thoughtful than offended. "If that was what Malfoy was talking about, then why did he think we helped you?"

"Who knows how Malfoy's mind works," Ron interjected. "He blames us for everything that doesn't go his way."

Harry tried to ignore the whole episode, but it played in the back of his mind. He went about his breakfast, trying to forget about the previous day. He'd almost succeeded when his relaxation was shattered by a voice from behind him.

"This is it, Potter," Severus Snape said in a harsh whisper. "You'll be expelled for this. Not even Dumbledore can protect you this time."

Before Harry could turn and ask what he might be talking about, Snape had already walked off and was striding quickly toward the head table where Dumbledore had been calmly enjoying a number of cups of tea. He immediately started talking very emphatically with the Headmaster. A moment later, McGonagall stood and walked around the table to stand next to Snape and join the argument.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" Ron asked.

"No," Ginny answered. "It's certainly about Harry though, and Snape isn't looking any happier." She turned and gave Harry a weak smile. "That's probably a good sign for you."

Harry watched passively. It felt bizarre. He knew that some part of his future was being argued and decided only thirty feet away from him, but he had no idea what had caused it. Snape's voice was getting loud enough that Ginny and the rest of them could catch various words. He'd mentioned something about the previous night. And something about a scar. Could he have known that Harry's scar was hurting and that he'd said nothing? Was that serious enough to have him expelled?

"You want proof?" Snape said loudly. Conversation across the room died down as more people tried to listen in. "Is that all it will take?"

Snape leaned forward, and said something to Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked at Snape, then glanced quickly at Harry. His face betrayed no emotion, but he looked away as soon as his eyes met Harry's.

"What are they talking about?" Ron asked. "This isn't just about Harry telling off Snape, is it?"

"No," Ginny responded in a serious tone. "No, it's something more than that. Something happened last night."

"It could only be Potter. It must be," Snape continued arguing. "Who else could have done it? Who else would want to?" Dumbledore said something in a much quieter voice that seemed to only make Snape more angry.

"You!" Snape shouted, pointing at one of the second-year Gryffindors. "Was Potter in the common room last night?"

"Only for a minute," the boy said in a trembling voice. "He went straight to bed. I didn't seem him at all after that."

"Of course not," Snape sneered. "Of course no one would have _seen_ him after that." Snape turned to glare at Dumbledore expectantly. Dumbledore however, was staring at Harry with a look of confusion across his face.

"Mr. Potter. I'm afraid I need to speak with you when you have finished your breakfast. I'm sure you'll have time to make your next class." Dumbledore immediately stood up and walked out through a side door, followed by Professor Snape.

Harry didn't have much of an appetite any more. Ginny was right. Something had happened last night. Snape must know something about it, and he obviously thought Harry had some part in it. Harry pushed away his plate.

"Well, I'm not hungry anymore, so I may as well figure out what Snape is on about." He stood up and took one last gulp of water to wet his dry throat.

"Good luck, Harry," Ginny said quietly.

Harry found the gargoyle outside Dumbledore's office waiting for him. It sprung aside lightly as he approached, and Harry trudged up the stairs to the Headmaster's office.

"Good morning, Harry," Dumbledore said solemnly. "Do you know why you are here?"

"No, sir."

"Harry, I have never forced you to tell me the truth. I do possess the ability to try," he said with serious nod. "I am no fool. I know you have not always been truthful with me, but I must impress upon you just how serious of a matter this is."

Harry felt his heart beating faster. Dumbledore's voice seemed to fade a little, as his mind raced to try and figure out what might be happening.

"Have you done anything recently that should be brought to my attention? Something to any of the students or staff?"

Harry racked his mind trying to think of what Dumbledore might have been talking about. There had been the incident at Halloween, but he couldn't think of anything else. "Well, I did... say some things to Professor Snape last night as I left my detention, but Professor McGonagall was there and she—"

"—has already spoken to me about that," Dumbledore interrupted. "I was thinking of something different."

"Like what? A prank?"

Dumbledore paused and stared intently at Harry. "Perhaps, but this prank is very serious. If the person responsible does not come forward, I don't know that I can protect him or her from a most severe punishment." Dumbledore looked into Harry's eyes intently. "Is there anything you wish to tell me?"

"I don't know what this is about, sir," Harry responded honestly.

"Snape reported to me that just this morning, Argus Filch found a book that Madam Pince reported missing from the library in September. The title of that book is _A Study of Permanent Magical Maladies_. It has a fairly large chapter on curse scars."

Harry's eyes opened at hearing this news. There was a book that might explain why his scar behaved as it did. He ignored the rest of what his Headmaster had said, and followed his curiosity.

"Does it explain how they work? Does it mention them being used to share... er... dreams?"

"No, Harry," Dumbledore answered impatiently, "I don't believe it does. But it does describe how they might be created."

Harry's shoulders sagged. "Oh. I already know how mine was created."

"I was not talking about your scar."

"You mean Crabbe and Justin? You think they were curse scars?"

"There is little doubt," Dumbledore said with a nod.

"And you think they were some sort of prank?" Suddenly, his mind made the connection that Dumbledore had been hinting at. The air around him seemed to chill and Harry's expression hardened. "You think they were pranks by me."

"The lost book was found under your bed this morning. I didn't approve it, but Professor Snape asked Mr. Filch to search your dormitory."

"I see." Harry felt the same anger from last night welling up from his stomach. Somehow, Voldemort had done this. He was trying to get Harry blamed for the attacks on Crabbe and Justin. It was just like the summer holidays, only now even Dumbledore was starting to suspect him.

Harry looked into Dumbledore's eyes and felt only cold indifference. He was only here to be some tool in Dumbledore's war, and yet he didn't even trust Harry. With a nod, Harry stood up and started walking out of the room.

"Harry, stop," Dumbledore said firmly. "If you leave, I do not think I will be able to protect you."

"What made you think you ever could?" Harry replied bitterly. "I _saw_ them attacked. I don't know who did it. It was like the others. I never saw the marks on the floor or the barrier, and I never saw Crabbe or Justin marked. I never chose to have this happen to me. There's nothing I can do to stop it. No one seems to be able to decide if I'm here to save them, or kill them. No matter what I say, no one believes me, and no matter what happens, no one tells me what's going on. If that's what your protection has given me, then maybe I'm better off without it."

"Please, Harry, sit down."

"They are only the first two attacks, you know," Harry continued. "It'll be just like the holidays. It will happen again and again, and I'll be forced to watch while everyone blames me for either causing it or not stopping it."

"Pardon me," Dumbledore said quickly, "but why do you say these were the first _two_ attacks?"

"Because these aren't like the attacks over the summer," Harry replied sharply. "I've been trying to explain that to everyone. They're different. Weaker, but more... direct." Harry didn't want or know how to explain how the visions were different.

However, it didn't seem to matter. Dumbledore relaxed a little, and Harry imagined that he saw the familiar twinkle in his eye as a small smile crept onto his face.

"Harry, there have been five attacks since the start of the term."

"Including Celeste, then?"

"No, Harry. There have been five people attacked and marked."

"Five?" Harry mind reeled with the news. Five attacks. He'd missed three of them. Why had he missed any? Had he missed any attacks over the summer? "Five attacks at Hogwarts?" he asked, hoping he'd misunderstood Dumbledore.

"The first was Millicent Bullstrode. The second and third were Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Finch-Fletchley. There have been two others."

"One was last night," Harry finished for him.

"That is correct. Have you seen anything, or had any dreams?"

"Just the attacks on Crabbe and Justin, but last night my scar was hurting and I didn't sleep well. Who were the other two?"

"I'd rather not say right now," Dumbledore replied. "Please understand! This is for your own protection. I'm afraid Professor Snape desires stronger proof of your innocence than even my word. Your lack of knowledge will go quite a ways to provide that. What about this book?"

The Headmaster turned and pulled a large worn book from the shelf behind him and placed it on his desk. The book looked like it had been used as a Bludger for some part of its life, but Harry could still make out an illustration of a man with a painful looking horn protruding from his forehead and gold letters spelling out: _A Study of Permanent Magical Maladies_.

"I've never seen it before," Harry answered honestly.

"Are you certain?"

"Well it's not like I often browse the Restricted Section for fun, but you might want to check if Hermione's seen it around."

"I'm certain she's never seen it either," Dumbledore said as he slipped the book back into a drawer in his desk. "There are books at Hogwarts that are even more difficult to obtain than those in the Restricted Section." Dumbledore paused for a moment while staring at Harry. "I believe you are being honest about your innocence, though your skill in Occlumency is impressive. However, I do know you are not telling me everything."

"Are you?" Harry countered.

Dumbledore didn't answer, but simply smiled kindly at Harry. He stood up, and walked over to a shelf of his bizarre silver instruments, one of which was spinning wildly in the morning sun.

"I am afraid that Voldemort has a supporter inside Hogwarts."

"Well, that's a relief. It didn't make much sense for me to have dreams about Aurors attacking students," Harry added sarcastically.

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied with a slight frown. "This is terribly serious, Harry. "I trust you will tell me immediately should you learn of any more attacks."

"Of course. Why shouldn't I tell the Order everything I know? They've never kept me in the dark."

* * *

As Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower he felt slightly bad about speaking to Dumbledore as he had. It was a passing guilt, though, and he had forgotten it completely when he walked into his dormitory to find all his things tossed about haphazardly.

Filch must have searched it shortly after Harry left for breakfast. Not much time had passed since Harry had left and when Snape had shown up in the Great Hall. There would have hardly been enough time for anyone to plant the book in the room. Either Filch was lying and had the book with him the whole time, or it must have been in the room for some time.

Getting down on his knees, Harry peered under his bed where Dumbledore said it had been. In the dim light he saw something odd in the corner between his bed and and bed stand. There was a rectangle of space with less dust than the surrounding area, and leading to it was a broken line of faint paw prints.

The book must have been there for some time before Mrs. Norris had found it. Someone must have placed it there some time ago, but how long? Had it been there when Justin was attacked?

There was a soft _crack_ from within the room, and Harry jumped to his feet, with his wand already in his hand and pointed in the direction of the sound. Standing on his bed was a very surprised house elf.

"Dobby? What are you doing here?"

"Cleaning up, sir," squeaked Dobby. "Please don't be angry at Dobby. Dobby is terribly ashamed. Dobby will be cleaning up immediately. It's only fair, sir."

"I'm not angry at you, Dobby," Harry said as he put his wand back in his pocket. "Snape set Filch on the room. It wasn't your—" Harry paused a moment and had second thoughts. "It wasn't your fault, was it?"

"No, sir!" Dobby said, waving his hands wildly. "Dobby did his best sir. Harry Potter freed Dobby, and Dobby will never forget. Dobby does his best to take extra care of Harry Potter and all of his property. Dobby wanted to stop him from taking it, sir, but no one else cares what house elves say. Only Harry Potter."

"Hold on," Harry said, as he realized what Dobby had said. "What did you say about 'my property'? Did you... Did you know about the book?" he asked, pointing to the spot he'd just been looking.

"Of course, sir," Dobby answered. "The other elves were going to return terrible book to the Librarian, but Dobby stopped them. Dobby returned it to its place, and kept it a secret. None of the elves were to touch it."

Harry ran his hand through his hair and tried to stay calm. Dobby had known about the book the whole time. He'd unknowingly made sure that Harry would eventually get in trouble. Harry kept repeating _It's not Dobby's fault, It's not Dobby's fault_ over and over in his mind.

"Er, Dobby," Harry said in as cheery a voice as he could muster.

"Yes, sir," Dobby returned, equally cheery.

"Do you remember when the other elves first found it?"

Dobby looked a little confused, but didn't ask any questions. "Dobby first heard elves talking about the dangerous book... the night after Harry Potter first left Hogwarts to visit the village."

"The day Justin was attacked?" Harry blurted.

"Yes, sir. Dobby figured Harry Potter had purchased it at the village. Dobby can find another copy, if Harry Potter wishes."

"No thanks, Dobby," Harry said. He said goodbye to the house elf, leaving him to clean up the mess of Harry's part of the dormitory. It really hadn't been Dobby's fault, but Harry wished Dobby would have at least told him about the book.

He walked back down to the common room where a number of older students were studying and playing games until their next classes. Harry sat in a quiet corner searching through his Charms text for anything that might come in useful. After what Dumbledore had said and the revelation of how long the book had been hiding under his bed made Harry feel positive that some Death Eater had actually made it into Hogwarts Castle.

That was what the D.A and Aurors were for, weren't they? Harry realized that Dumbledore must have expected something like this to happen. If Dumbledore had some idea for how to deal with it, he hadn't told Harry. If Harry told everyone they'd either think he was lying, or they'd think everyone was a Death Eater. He needed advice, and so instead of thinking about it any longer, he forced himself to concentrate on finding new spells to practice with the D.A. while he waited for his next class. After paging through a hundred pages or more, he stood up and made his way to the door. Care of Magical Creatures would be starting soon, and he wanted to be early.

* * *

Harry watched Ron and Hermione walk out the front door of the castle, laughing and enjoying themselves. He felt bad, knowing that he was about to put an end to that, but he also knew they would want to know about what he had to say.

"Harry!" Ron shouted as he spotted Harry waiting for them. "What did Dumbledore say? Hermione and I can talk to him, if it would help."

"You don't need to," Harry replied easily. "He doesn't think I had any part of it."

"That's great, Harry, but _what_ did Snape think you were a part of?" Hermione asked.

"That's what I needed to talk to you about," Harry answered. The three of them walked slowly toward Hagrid's cabin and Harry told them as much as he could remember of what Dumbledore had said, and everything he learned about the book in his room."

"Five?" Hermione exclaimed. "But you only saw two of them."

"Well, something must have happened to get Snape hacked off at him again this morning," Ron said. "The way Malfoy talked about it, it was more than just Harry's apology. If there were five attacks, then I'd say one of them was last night."

"And Snape was the target," Hermione added.

"That makes sense," Harry agreed. "Crabbe was attacked after he broke my arm. Justin was attacked after he accused me of attacking Crabbe. Millicent was attacked after you hurt your hand—" Hermione's eyes widened at hearing this, Harry had left that out at first "—and now Snape after he and I fought after my detention."

"Of course! They all have a mark, right? Well, I'll bet that Millicent's is on her hand, just like Crabbe's is on his arm. She wore gloves to detention to cover it up, and Snape was upset because he was certain you did it."

"Well, I don't think this is going to change his mind," Ron added. "But where do you suppose his is? He was just arguing with Harry and you can't really give someone a scar on their mouth, can you?"

"I have no idea, but I know how to find out." Ron and Hermione gave him curious looks. "Zabini and Greengrass. If Malfoy knows about it, then they'll be able to give us details soon enough. We'll want to make sure they don't believe Snape, too."

"We should call a D.A. meeting," Hermione suggested.

"Not tonight. It's too soon. Everyone will get suspicious. Make it tomorrow at the earliest, but see if you can get word to the Council that they should meet an hour before the meeting. There is something they need to know."

Ron gave an annoyed grunt. "Can you tell me now, since I'm not allowed in your special meetings?"

"Oh, right. Everything about this, the attacks themselves, the book, and the visions, they point to one conclusion—"

"The Death Eaters have gotten into Hogwarts," Hermione finished.

"How'd they get past the Aurors?" Ron asked. "How do they avoid the Map? Isn't it more likely that Malfoy and his goons are doing this?"

"Malfoy could never figure out how to get into Gryffindor Tower," Harry said in a lower voice. They weren't far from Hagrid's hut, and the number of students around them was slowly increasing.

"And it takes more than one to attack Justin _and_ hide the book under Harry's bed while we're all out," Hermione whispered.

"Still here, Potter?" Malfoy shouted from behind Harry. "Dumbledore still covering all your little mistakes?"

"That's quite enough, now, Mr. Malfoy!" Hagrid called out over the rest of the students. "Gather around, I've got something new to show you." Harry ignored Malfoy and tried to pay attention to the class. However he couldn't keep his mind off what Hermione had said. She'd been right. There had to be more than one Death Eater. Harry's eyes scanned the edge of the forest, looking for black robes.

* * *


	26. Blind Jealousy

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 26 - Blind Jealousy**

* * *

The next weekend was a Hogsmeade weekend and by Saturday morning Gryffindor Tower buzzed with excitement. Christmas was less than two weeks away, and nearly every student in their third year or higher was preparing to spend the day in Hogsmeade, celebrating the last week of the term and purchasing gifts.

There had been quite a bit of discussion about whether the students would even be allowed to go to Hogsmeade. The Aurors made it clear that they thought it was too risky. Dumbledore was acting like it was perfectly safe, and encouraged all students to go if they could. He was probably worried that canceling the weekend would be difficult to explain to nosy reporters. So far as the rest of the wizarding world had been told, Hogwarts was perfectly safe.

Harry hadn't known what to do at first. It wasn't as if the attacks only happened during Hogsmeade weekends, and yet he couldn't help but worry. In the end, he decided to go. He had shopping he wanted to do, and if there was going to be an attack, he'd have a better chance of stopping it if he was not sitting in Gryffindor Tower.

As they finished lunch they congregated in the Entrance Hall much as they had on the last Hogsmeade weekend. Harry looked for Claire and found her standing quietly against the wall. Ron and Hermione were discussing gift ideas for their parents while Harry silently tried to think of some way for him to get something for Ginny without her seeing it.

When Harry wasn't watching, Dean had walked up to Ron and was asking where Ginny was. Ron looked a little put out by the interruption and suggested Dean try looking in the Great Hall. Only a minute after he left, Ginny returned wearing a heavier coat.

"Dean was looking for you," Ron announced dutifully before returning to his conversation. Ginny frowned and glanced over her shoulders as if Dean might suddenly spring out of the crowd around them.

Filch showed up a moment later and started letting all of them leave. After casting a number of Warming Charms on their clothes, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stepped through the doors and began walking toward the front gates of Hogwarts.

It was only just past noon, but the weather was already dreary, and the sky felt dark and brooding. There was fresh snow hanging on the trees and blanketing the ground. It should have looked peaceful and calming, but instead, the dark, low hanging clouds made Harry feel as if the world was simply waiting for something bad to happen.

"What is it, Harry?" Ginny asked as they walked.

Harry shook his head, "It's nothing. I was hoping it wouldn't look this depressing."

As they walked, Harry listened to Ron talking about the various different things he had considered getting for his brothers. As they passed through the main gates, a pair of Aurors nodded to Harry. One of them poked at a piece of parchment with his wand. They were counting the students. There would probably be another pair near Hogsmeade making similar counts.

There was a large group of third-years behind them talking excitedly amongst themselves. As Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny walked, the voices and the crunching of snow from the pack of younger students had been loud enough to mask the sound of someone jogging to catch up with them. When they finally heard the footsteps, their pursuer was practically right next to them.

"Ginny!" Dean Thomas called out between breaths. "Could I talk with you?"

Harry wasn't sure if it was the cold, or Dean's request, but Ginny's face was noticeably paler than it had been before they left.

Ginny looked around her as the third-years passed them by. She gave Harry an uncertain look, then looked briefly to Hermione who tried to look sympathetic, but said nothing.

"Er... Sure, I guess," Ginny finally agreed.

"Do we have to talk with them listening in?" Dean asked.

Ron snorted and gave him a funny look. "Fine," said Ginny, sounding as if she had just agreed to a detention. She immediately marched off some distance, leaving Dean with Harry, Ron and Hermione. "I— I was hoping we..." Dean said haltingly. He gestured limply toward Hogsmeade, but Ginny simply stood by a tree and stared at him.

Ron was still looking impatient as he waited for Dean to follow her. "Well?" he said loudly. "Go on, then. I've got plans, I'm not going to wait forever."

Dean reluctantly walked to where Ginny was standing. Harry immediately remembered it. She was standing under the tree he had broken his arm on. She was standing with her back to the tree, looking at the ground as she nervously adjusted the soft leather gloves she was wearing.

"Honestly, Ron," Hermione said as Dean walked away. "It's not as if Zonko's is going to close early on the Hogsmeade weekend before Christmas. Though after what Ginny did last time, you'll be lucky if they don't toss you out the moment you walk in."

Harry could tell that Dean had started talking to her. Just as Harry was about to look away, Ginny's eyes opened wide. Her head jerked to meet his gaze. Dean's head turned as well. He saw Dean look at him, and he immediately looked away, pretending to adjust his scarf.

Ron nodded his head toward Ginny. "What do you suppose that's about?" he asked in a low voice,

Hermione actually was re-wrapping her scarf about her neck. "I imagine he wants to go out with her again. He's probably asking her to the Ball." She sounded completely disinterested.

"How do you know that?" Harry asked.

Hermione finished with her scarf and gave Harry an odd look, "You're not the only one with secret sources of information."

"Right," Harry mumbled, "there's probably a chapter on Ginny's social life in _Hogwarts: A History_."

Ron choked as he tried to cover up a laugh. "Unfortunately not," Hermione huffed as she turned up her nose and turned her back to Harry.

Harry was trying to watch Ginny and Dean when he had the chance. He remembered the incident at Diagon Alley during the summer holidays and was just as uncertain about the situation as Ginny was. He noticed that Ginny was looking around quite a bit, and her gaze would always slow a little as it passed over him. More troubling was the fact that Dean would occasionally do the same thing.

"What do you think she'll say?" Ron asked, finally.

"No," Hermione said calmly. "She's got her eye on someone else." Harry caught Hermione flashing him a small smile.

"Yeah? We'll she doesn't let on, does she?" Ron replied.

Hermione turned away to cover up a laugh. "I guess not, Ron."

Ginny and Dean's conversation was getting more animated. Ginny had crossed her arms over her chest and took on a defiant, almost angry look to her face.

"It's not going well," Harry said flatly.

Dean had turned to face the three of them with a look of controlled anger. He started walking quickly and purposefully toward them. Ron walked toward him, with Hermione following, but they didn't get more than three steps before Dean was standing right in front of them, fuming. Harry decided to keep his distance.

"This is because of you?" Dean shouted as he reached Ron. Harry caught Dean looking past Ron to him, but Ron didn't seem to notice.

"What are you talking about?" returned Ron, looking somewhat annoyed.

"She asks me out, then ignores me over the holidays, dumps me the first chance she gets. Now she spends all her time with you lot."

"Yeah, well Ginny's life has changed a bit in the last year, hasn't it?"

"It's you, isn't it?" Dean asked, looking directly at Harry. Even Ron noticed this time, and he turned to give Harry a confused look as Dean continued. "You're behind all of it: Crabbe, Justin, that Ravenclaw girl, whatever Snape was bellowing about, and now this. It's you. I know it."

Ginny walked up and stood between Dean and Ron. "Dean! This has nothing to do with Harry!" she shouted at him, but then she gave a quick glance back to see how Harry was taking this.

"See!" Dean said sharply. "You keep looking at _him_, as if you need his... his _permission_ to do things."

Ron pushed Ginny aside to step closer to Dean, though she had tried to stop him. "What are you saying? Do you think Harry has Ginny under the Imperius Curse or something?"

"I don't know what it is, but Ginny kept looking over at Harry," said Dean. Hermione pursed her lips. "It was the look on her face that gave her away. She was scared, but she couldn't stop trying to look at him." Dean turned to face Ginny. "What did you do? Why are you afraid of him? You don't have to do what he says, Ginny."

"This is absurd!" said Ginny. "Harry does not control me!"

"Really?" Dean said with a bitter smile. "And why was it that you just suddenly started spending all your time writing to him over the summer holidays?"

"How did you—" she started before she realized what she was doing. She'd done exactly what Dean hoped.

"I didn't. It was a guess." Dean answered, before turning toward Ron and Hermione. "I'm sure she didn't act strangely or do anything unexpected either, did she?"

Ron suddenly looked confused. He looked at Harry as if he was starting to think Dean might be onto something.

"Ron, you know what they were talking about," Hermione said sternly before turning back to Dean. "We can't tell you about it, but Harry is not controlling Ginny."

"_I saw it_, Hermione," Dean replied. "I saw it with my own eyes. It wasn't some dream or vision like Harry claims to have. It's right there. Harry's trying to control us all. Justin saw it. Snape saw it. Either he got to you, too, or you just don't want to see it. But the others will." With that, Dean turned and stormed off toward Hogsmeade.

"Now what do we do?" Ginny asked, but nobody answered. They were all staring at the old gnarled tree Dean passed as he walked off. It was the same tree he and Ginny had been talking near. Ginny blinked her eyes, and took a step toward it.

"Er... Did anyone else see that?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"I—er... I think so," Ron said. His voice was quiet and stiff. "I don't think I'll ever forget what they looked like."

Ginny was stepping back, now. "It was a Death Eater. I'd swear it."

Harry looked panicked. "You all saw him, too?" Part of him was relieved that he wasn't having another vision, but the greater part of him was terrified at what this meant: a Death Eater was close by, _very_ close by.

"We all did, Harry," Hermione said. "But he ...Disapparated, I think. It didn't look right..."

"No, he drank something," Harry said slowly as he cautiously stepped forward. He realized he'd long since taken his wand out, and was relieved to see that everyone else had as well.

"Vanishing Draught!" exclaimed Hermione. "He's still there. Look!"

Hermione pointed toward Hogsmeade, and along the a set of deep, long strides had made their way toward the town. In the distance, Dean could still be seen walking toward Hogsmeade, alone.

"Dean!" Hermione shouted. "He heard Dean accusing you of all those things. What if—"

"Oi! You there!" a voice called out, causing all of them to turn their wands on the source. A young Auror stepped toward them. He must have Apparated to the spot.

"Did any of you see some large black thing near that tree, there?"

"Yes!" Harry shouted. "It was a Death Eater, we're certain! He's going after Dean!" he continued, pointing at Dean's shrinking shape in the snow. Without another word, he began running toward Dean. He could hear Ron, Hermione and Ginny running behind him.

"A Death Eater? Wait!" the Auror yelled as they ran. "Are you Harry Potter?"

The snow was fresh and deep and it didn't make for the best running. Harry knew the Death Eater couldn't be far from Dean, but he might still be able to stop him. He was encouraged by the sound and glare of red sparks crackling in the sky behind them. The Aurors would be coming.

"Dean!" Harry yelled. "Dean, stop!"

Dean turned and saw them running toward him, and instead of stopping began running in the other direction.

"NO!" Harry shouted as he tried to run faster. Perhaps Dean's running would buy him some extra time, time in which the Aurors might show up. Just as Dean reached another patch of trees, one of his feet sunk deep into the ground throwing him onto his stomach violently.

Hermione stopped suddenly, her wand pointed to the sky over Dean.

"_Revelatio Locus!_"

The area was suddenly showered with tiny white sparks which twinkled and floated down from the sky. As they fell, a number of them stopped on a large form moving toward Dean.

Harry bolted toward the shape, which was gradually turning into the black robe and hood of a Death Eater. Ginny followed him. As they ran, the snow glowed red, as another bright flare from an Auror illuminated the area. The Death Eater turned to look at them as a second violently green flare shot into the sky and hovered over their location.

The Death Eater shot a quick glance at the sky, then back at Harry and Ginny. Even his hood could not hide his fury. Before he had time to react, Harry saw the figure raise his wand. He dropped to the ground as a beam of red light lanced toward him. Behind him, he heard a second person drop into the snow.

He looked and saw Ginny collapsed and laying completely still in the snow behind him.

_It was just a stunner_, he told himself as he stood up, seeing Ron sprinting toward Ginny. _It was only a stunner, she'll be okay..._ Harry turned and ran toward the Death Eater again. _He won't attack me. Ginny's going to be okay._

Aurors were popping into existence all around him, wands drawn and searching for the action. The Death Eater was standing over Dean, and Harry was close enough to see that Dean was on his back now. There was a flash of light as a spell arced from the Death Eaters wand to Dean's head.

Harry cried out, and was answered by a number of spells fired at the dark shape. Harry raised his own wand, trying to decide what spell to cast, but a stunner from one of the Aurors hit the the Death Eater first. He was knocked off his feet, but somehow he climbed back to his knees and quickly aimed his wand back at Dean. From the distance Harry was at, he could faintly hear the curse:

"_Macula Exosus_"

Dean convulsed violently, but Harry could still see puffs of air from his breath in the cold air. He aimed his wand.

"_Stupefy!_"

The spell was right on target, but the Death Eater was gone. Harry wasn't sure if he'd Disapparated, or if he'd had a Portkey, or if Voldemort had some other method of returning his servants to him. It didn't matter. The Death Eater was gone and Dean was still breathing.

* * *

It was hard for Harry to try and ignore the shouting from the other room. He was in Madam Pomfrey's office with Ron, Hermione and Ginny talking with Dumbledore while Pomfrey tried to treat Dean in the main room. Unlike the other victims, Dean hadn't been completely unconscious when they found him.

The Aurors had reached him first. Harry had tried to get close enough to talk to Dean, but they hadn't let him. Knowing what he did now, it was almost certainly for the best. Ginny winced as Dean's voice echoed into the room.

"You weren't there! He was chasing me! They all were! They did this to me!"

Even Dumbledore frowned on hearing Dean's accusations. He had asked that they wait for Madam Pomfrey to finish with whatever she needed to do with Dean, before discussing what had happened. When Pomfrey finally entered the room, her expression was even more serious than Harry had expected. Ignoring his fear, Harry needed one question answered immediately.

"What happened to him?"

Madam Pomfrey's eyebrows raised and she glared at Harry. "Strange that you ask that. Mr. Thomas was asking that very question. He seemed to think that you would know the answer."

"Was there a curse scar?" Dumbledore asked before Harry could complain. Pomfrey stared at him in something similar to shock. "There was a scar, wasn't there?" Pomfrey nodded slowly. "And what else has happened to him? What injury has occurred?"

Pomfrey stiffened and she appeared bewildered. "His sight. He's lost his ability to see. I cannot say how permanent it might be, but it is complete and not easily cured."

Dumbledore turned to look at Harry and his friends. "Does that share any link to the reason Mr. Thomas was upset?"

Ginny nodded weakly. "Yes, he said that he'd seen it. He said he'd seen—" She stopped and looked at the others.

"He thought that I was controlling Ginny somehow," Harry explained. He desperately hoped to avoid talking about what Dean had really thought. Dumbledore frowned.

"And the mark is near his eyes?"

Madam Pomfrey confirmed this, and the shape. After all of the questions, she began to see the pattern as well. "Yes, Poppy, they are all related. I would go so far as to say that all were done by the same wizard, and none of them were done by Mr. Potter or any of his friends."

Dumbledore called in Kingsley Shacklebolt and a pair of the Aurors. They started talking quickly and Harry listened intently to everything they said. There was little chance or need for him to join in, but it seemed as if Dumbledore wanted him there, if only to hear what was said.

The Hogsmeade weekend had been canceled. Most of the Aurors had been called out to sweep the grounds and path to Hogsmeade, though they hadn't found anything yet. They debated about canceling all future Hogsmeade weekends, but Dumbledore seemed to think it was quite important that they keep up the appearance of normal operations.

The Aurors didn't seem at all pleased about this, but Kingsley seemed to be able to keep them in line. They quickly moved on to a series of debates about what could be done to stop any other attacks. Harry didn't recognize even half of the charms they mentioned, but it seemed that they wanted to extend the charms protecting Hogwarts to cover quite a bit of ground outside the grounds.

Dumbledore had actually argued against it, saying that it would take far too much time, and force too many Aurors away from the castle where the students were. He reminded them of the upcoming visit of the International Confederation of Wizards and the extra Aurors that would bring in. The Aurors reluctantly agreed to wait until then to try and extend the charms. After a brief discussion of the upcoming end-of-term break, Dumbledore excused Harry and the other Gryffindors.

When they reached their common room they immediately climbed the stairs to the boys dormitory where they could speak privately. There had been another victim, and it was another D.A. member. This time, it had even been a Gryffindor. More disturbing, however, were the scars everyone had been receiving.

"Crabbe had one on the same spot where he'd broken your arm. Millicent must have one on her hand for making me injure mine," Hermione recited. "Justin got his across his neck for trying to speak out against Harry, and now Dean's got one near his eyes for thinking he saw something that didn't exist."

"But what about the other two?" Ron asked. "Snape is one, so is the Warrenton girl the other one?"

"No," Harry answered. "None of the others were killed. All of the others were connected to me. I think she's different."

"Fine then, so who is the sixth?"

"I don't know," Harry said as he paced in front of the window, "but there is something else that worries me more." They looked at him, waiting as he tried to find the words to describe what he believed. "Why are these attacks happening?"

Ginny was the first to answer. "Tom wants everyone to think you're attacking other students."

"He wants you kicked out of Hogwarts," Hermione offered.

There was only one problem with that idea: it wasn't working. Even Snape wouldn't be able to argue Harry's involvement in the attacks. The Aurors had actually seen an attack now, and though Dean still thought Harry had been the one to attack him, no one else would.

"Maybe he doesn't realize it's not working," Ron offered.

"Maybe he's got some other reason for doing it," Ginny countered.

It wasn't a very encouraging thing to think of. What other reasons could Voldemort have for attacking Dean? It still had to be something to do with Harry, but what could he be trying to achieve? It defied any explanation that any of them could think of.

* * *

The final week of the term seemed to pass almost unbearably slowly. Dean, like Justin, left Hogwarts, and there was nothing to suggest that he would be returning. There was a general melancholy which seemed to take his place and the cheer which normally filled the halls and corridors at Christmas seemed somewhat muted.

The most recent attack hadn't completely ended any celebration, however. The decorations in the Great Hall remained in place. Students still exchanged gifts as they arrived via owl post, the only method left for students to purchase gifts.

Ginny and Ron had both fallen to using Fred and George to buy their gifts. Hermione had eventually also mailed her list to the twins. Harry, however, was well known enough that he could simply send in orders directly to various shops at Diagon Alley. His purchases were to be stored in his vault at Gringott's until Lupin came to pick them up.

Other students made all sorts of arrangements to get their gifts. It became something which they could concentrate on to try and push away the fear and uncertainty. Few people spoke openly about the attacks, and the _Daily Prophet_ still hadn't run a story about it. It seemed as if it was some Hogwarts secret. Few of the students seemed to want to reveal it, whether out of loyalty toward the school or fear of some reaction.

Professor McGonagall had come to the common room that week asking for the names of students who would be remaining in the castle over the holiday. Harry had been looking forward to not being on that list for once, but was crestfallen when he saw his name at the top of it.

Hermione was quick to point out that her name was just below his, followed by Ron and Ginny. Harry decided to hold his anger in check for the moment, and was rewarded with a conspiratorial look from McGonagall as she scratched the only other name from the list and hung it on the wall.

Harry had to admit that he hadn't considered how he was going to get to Grimmauld Place. He'd assumed he would just be taking the train like every other student, and yet that idea didn't sound quite so appealing to him anymore. Perhaps Dumbledore and the Order had some better idea for getting them to London. Even if they didn't, if he was stuck at Hogwarts, at least he would have friends with him.

The last day of the term came and passed, and as the students filed out of the portrait hole, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny sat quietly in the common room. After the last student had left, they were still waiting for some news on what was happening. Were they really going to be staying the entire holiday? After Ron beat Harry in a second game of chess, he began complaining about being hungry. Not wanting to miss their chance at a real meal, they all slowly walked to the portrait and climbed through.

"What are you doing?" McGonagall scolded them almost the moment that Harry's foot hit the floor outside the common room.

"We were just about to go to dinner?" Harry answered.

"You'll have plenty of time for that when you arrive," McGonagall whispered. "I'm sure Albus will be along shortly. He'll be bringing your trunks later, so be sure to bring anything you might need for the next few hours."

"Our trunks?" Ron asked.

"Yes, of course, Mr. Weasley," she replied impatiently. "Just leave them by the fireplace and they will be taken care of."

The four of them exchanged surprised looks. None of them had packed. Harry still had his things scattered around his bed. Without any more encouragement, they all scrambled back into the common room, and dashed up to their dormitories to pack as quickly as they could.

"You suppose she meant that Dumbledore is taking us to Grimmauld Place?" Ron asked as he stuffed a pile of robes into his trunk.

"Where else would he take us?" Harry replied, as he packed just as urgently. "I just don't know why we need all this secrecy."

They tossed everything they could into their trunks. "I think that's everything," Harry announced as Ron searched under his bed for any stray socks. A moment later, they levitated their trunks and led them down the stairs just in time to see Dumbledore stepping into the common room.

"Ahh, excellent," he remarked. "Dobby promised that he will be bringing them a little later. May I ask where Miss Granger and Miss Weasley are?"

"They're... er... They're just getting their trunks," Harry said with a hopeful glance toward the stairs. When there was no sign of them, Dumbledore took the opportunity to sit down on the couch. In an instant he looked as if he had come there simply to relax and enjoy a lazy evening. The boys waited impatiently for Ginny and Hermione to come down.

Only a few minutes later, there was a series of loud banging noises coming from the girls' staircase. All three of them turned to watch as a trunk came bobbing down the stairs, a little too quickly for anyone to control it.

"...Don't worry about it. They elves will fix it," Ginny's voice echoed down the stairs. "Serves them right. We would've been done if they would have told us." Ginny stepped into view, but she was looking over her shoulder still.

"They're already done, of course," she shouted up the stairs, "Probably just mashed everything in like Fred and George." Without looking at them, she directed her trunk over toward the fireplace, and kept talking. "I hope there was some good reason why Dumbledore didn't tell us about this."

"There is, Miss Weasley."

Ginny froze, and her trunk fell to the floor with a _clunk_. Hermione appeared behind her a moment later, looking almost as surprised as Ginny, but much less embarrassed.

"It would be better if no one knew that Harry or any of you have left the safety of Hogwarts," said Dumbledore. Harry forced himself to remain quiet. If Hogwarts was safe, what could the rest of the world be like?

"Everyone who left must think that you are remaining at Hogwarts," he explained, "and everyone who remained must think you have left. By the time anyone discovers the truth, we will all be back and ready to start the next term." He stood and tossed a small handful of powder into the fireplace, which immediately flared green.

"We're taking the Floo?" Ron asked.

"Oh no," Dumbledore replied. "I fear it's too well watched. I have a much more efficient means of transporting you."

A second later, there was a flash of fire and smoke. Fawkes had suddenly appeared and was slowly sailing toward the couch.

"Wicked," Ron exclaimed.

One by one, Fawkes circled and let each of them grab onto his tail before he disappeared in another burst of smoke and flame. Harry was the last to go, and as Fawkes circled the room after returning from taking Hermione, Dumbledore gave him a cheerful smile.

"I'll see you soon, Harry."

Harry reached and grabbed one of Fawkes' long tail feathers with all the skill of a champion Seeker. The world seemed to burn away around him, and when the flames passed, he found himself standing in the parlor at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

"It feels a lot like the Floo," Ron said from a nearby chair, "but it's nice to do it without all the ash."

* * *


	27. Christmas at Grimmauld Place

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 27 - Christmas at Grimmauld Place**

* * *

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was a different world. Molly, Arthur, and Lupin were there, of course, and with the rest of the Weasleys, they were as much of a family as Harry could wish for. Molly hadn't stopped moving since the minute Harry had arrived. She was currently busy in the kitchen, working tirelessly on dinner for a large number of people.

Lupin and Arthur had joined Harry and his friends in the parlor. They deftly avoided any talk of Voldemort or Death Eaters or any of the attacks. For a while, Harry had thought they had been simply ignoring it, but he noticed how they would steer conversation to cheerier topics whenever they seemed to stray too close.

As they talked, a number of other people joined them, some of whom Harry didn't recognize though only Order members could possibly be there. The Order seemed to be growing. Tonks was one of the first to arrive, She took a seat next to Ron, and across from Harry. From her seat, she faced both Harry and Ginny, and she seemed to be watching them with interest.

Some of the people who had come in earlier started slowly disappearing. Bill and Charlie arrived. Elphias Doge left. Mr. Weasley said that he was going to run some errands with Hagrid. Harry kept waiting for Dumbledore to arrive, but the longer he waited, the less he believed that he would be joining them. With a squeak, the door to the kitchen opened and Fleur Delacour quietly stepped into the room and went to stand silently next to Bill.

"Good evening, Fleur," Arthur said with a smile.

"Good evening, Mister Weasley," Fleur replied politely and with slow concentration. "And good evening to you, too," she said with a nod to Harry. "It is nice to see you again, 'arry."

"I don't suppose you saw Fred or George?" Arthur asked her.

"I did," she answered stiffly. Her accent was much softer than it had been, but it had come at the cost of some of the grace with which she had spoken before. "Zey said zey will be coming shortly." Mr. Weasley nodded and returned to his conversation.

Tonks was talking with Ron and Ginny about the Chudley Cannons. Ron listened raptly as he listened to her tell them about the day she had spent at one of their matches. She was telling them about all the extra security they had, earning her a warning glance from Lupin. She ignored it, but moved on quickly to talk about the match, and how one of the players had found her after the match and offered to take her out to a dinner at one of the fancier pubs in Ireland. She'd turned him down, mostly, she said, because she hadn't slept for almost a whole day.

"It's just as well," Ron said consolingly. "He's not that good, anyway."

Hermione frowned at him. "I thought you said he was the most best Chaser they had?"

"Yeah, well I'm sure he was, once," Ron replied distractedly.

"You said it two weeks ago."

Ron gave her a disgusted look. "Since when have you ever paid attention to me when I talk about Quidditch?"

Tonks broke out laughing. Ron hadn't been wrong, but Harry decided not to try and defend him. Theodore Rackham really was the Cannons' best Chaser, and he really wasn't that good.

"So you're not going to tell him about that bloke you went dancing with?" Fred nearly shouted as he and George walked over toward Harry and the rest of them. Tonks looked at them pleadingly. "You know, the one who plays for the Tornadoes? Seen him a few times now, haven't you?"

Despite her ability to change her nose or hair at will, it seemed that Tonks could not fight the blushing of her face. Ron looked amused and disappointed at the same time. Tonks was saved from further embarrassment by Molly announcing dinner.

The kitchen was pleasantly surprising. While the parlor had been decorated for Christmas, it was reserved and almost subtle. It had obviously been kept a more subdued out of necessity. The kitchen, however, appeared to have been the site of a nearly catastrophic explosion of greenery and Christmas cheer. Harry was amazed by the small forest of miniature pine trees which seemed to sprout from almost every flat surface around the edge of the room, each twinkling faintly as if sprinkled with tiny jewels.

Forgetting her previous embarrassment, Tonks beamed at Harry's reaction. "We were particularly proud of the trees. Hestia and I helped the twins figure out how to do it," she explained with a sidelong glance at Fred and George. "Of course, now they sell it for eight Galleons at their shop and we've yet to see a single Sickle."

Fred and George slipped out of the accusation by grabbing plates and utensils and laying them down neatly around the table. Everyone was filing into the kitchen now, and Harry joined them as they took places in front of the plates. The conversation picked up where it had left off in the parlor and Harry relaxed and let his worries slip away.

* * *

That night, he had his own room to sleep in. No one said it, but Harry knew it was yet another room Sirius had either added or renovated in the house. The decorations were plain but comforting. The walls were a deep red with a high ceiling. At one side of the room was a large four poster bed, similar to the one he had at Hogwarts. At the foot of the bed was his trunk. In the center of the room, between two large windows, was a handsome desk with an owl perch which Hedwig had already found. At the other end was a large fireplace with a comfortable looking chair sitting in front of it. The mantle was empty except for a single silver figurine in the unmistakable shape of a stag.

The room felt comfortable and almost familiar. Lupin stopped in to see if Harry was okay with the room. He was glad to hear that Harry appreciated it and left after wishing him a restful night's sleep. That was exactly what Harry was hoping for. After the enjoyment of dinner with the Order that night and the comfort of the room, he couldn't imagine how he couldn't feel rested the next morning.

The next morning, however, he understood how. He woke up in a cold sweat, trying to remember who's screams had filled his last nightmare. There had been so many that night and picking out the most recent was a journey he didn't look forward to recounting.

The sun was already well into the sky, and its light flooded into the room through the windows on either side of the desk. He'd slept late, and perhaps the most comforting thought was that there was no reason why he could not. The Dursleys rarely let him sleep as long as he wanted, and he seldom had the freedom to sleep in at Hogwarts.

Someone would come looking for him eventually, if only to tell him that he should eat. It was unlikely that he'd find anyone else still eating breakfast at that hour, so instead he took the time to wash up and dress. So far as he knew, there was nothing he had to do all holiday. He might eventually help with chores around the large mansion, but Christmas was only three days away and it seemed likely that there would be few chores which would still need to be done.

To his surprise, there were still platters of food for breakfast. The plates had been charmed to remain warm somehow and Lupin encouraged Harry to take some of the food.

"It isn't long before lunch." he said casually. "Ron and Hermione already ate. I think they're upstairs with Bill. And most of the rest of them are probably just going to wait until then." Harry asked just who 'they' were, and Lupin looked almost apologetic. "The other members of the Order. They don't often keep the most regular schedules, especially where food is concerned."

"So the Order is keeping busy, then?" Harry asked as he spread some butter over some toast. Lupin looked uncomfortable, and kept quiet. "Fine," Harry said coldly, and started walking away with his toast. He was famished, and the toast would do little to change that, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with the Order's secrecy either. He felt almost relieved when Lupin asked him to stop.

"You have to understand, Harry," he said in a whisper. "Molly was very adamant about it. There's to be no talk of Order business until after Christmas, and even then only when necessary." He pulled out his wand and wiggled it at the door. "And Molly... well, it's not worth trying to fight with her about such things."

Lupin gestured for Harry to sit down at the table, while he locked all the doors. When he was finished, he returned to sit across from Harry and poured him some water from a large pitcher.

"The Order has been very busy," he told Harry. "We know what's been happening at Hogwarts. At least, we know what Dumbledore has been willing to share. No doubt you know even more." Lupin kept looking over his shoulder. Apparently, Mrs. Weasley could be quite intimidating.

"Voldemort's still trying to find out about the prophecy, but he's doing it quietly. We're in a bit of a spot currently because we've lost track of every Death Eater we know of. The ones who escaped are gone, of course. But even those who weren't there are gone. Business trips, visiting relatives, there's always an explanation, but they've all disappeared. One even got himself admitted to St. Mungo's and then Obliviated the wizards there, letting him slip away."

Harry listened as the words spilled out of Lupin's mouth. Harry felt guilty about his previous thoughts. It was apparent that Lupin was almost eager to tell Harry everything he knew.

"We know there have to be more that we don't know about. We even know some of the things they've been getting up to."

"Have there been any attacks?" Harry interrupted.

"No," Lupin said gravely. "Only the ones at Hogwarts. Whoever these other Death Eaters are, they haven't been using violence. Someone was paid eighty Galleons to turn over a copy of the staff list of the Department of Mysteries from just over sixteen years ago." Before Harry could wager a guess, Lupin continued talking. "It seems likely that they were looking for the keeper of the Hall of Prophecy."

"Who was it?"

"No one knows. If anyone would, it would be Albus, and he isn't sharing that with anyone. It would be too dangerous." Lupin reached for the last piece of toast. "Other than that, the worst they've done is some minor theft. They're targeting the estates of the oldest magical families, but they never take much. Usually just minor artifacts, old books, and official scrolls. There isn't much sense in it, but we're taking it as a good sign."

"Why?"

"Well, by all accounts he's being quite cautious. It seems we surprised him at the Department of Mysteries. Now he's making himself known slowly, and using every bit of time to try and find some understanding of the prophecy and how you've defeated him so often."

"So... the attacks at Hogwarts, they're—"

"Unexplained," Lupin finished for him. "For now, that is. We're working on that, too, but for now it seems like Voldemort is simply trying to confuse us and draw our attention away from whatever the other Death Eaters are doing."

"What about Celeste Warrenton? I know there is something—"

"Remus?" Molly called from the other side of the door leading to the parlor. She rapped sharply on the door. "Who are you talking to?"

Lupin jumped to his feet and quickly unlocked the door. Molly's face darted through the opening and stared accusingly at Lupin.

"Remus, what were you talking to Harry about?"

"We were, er... having a rather private discussion," Lupin replied while acting rather embarrassed.

Mrs. Weasley raised her eyebrows at him. "Was there any particular topic to this private discussion?"

"Er... It's rather, er..." Lupin stammered. "It's between Harry and I, I'm afraid." He suddenly lowered his voice and stepped toward Molly. "Since James and Sirius aren't around, I felt it was my duty to—"

"Oh!" Molly said as her eyes widened instantly. "I'm terribly sorry. I... Well, I really should talk to Arthur about that very thing. Perhaps I should send him and Ron in..."

"No," Lupin answered quickly. "No, I think we were pretty much done, right Harry?" Harry gave him a couple enthusiastic nods. He certainly didn't want to have to add that to his day.

Pleased at his success in avoiding any uncomfortable situation, Lupin nodded and walked off toward the parlor, leaving Harry to himself. Without anything chores to do or essays to write, Harry decided that he should go find Ron and Hermione. With luck, Ginny would be with them.

He was right. They were all sitting in an empty study, watching Bill and Charlie demonstrate various odd Charms they knew. Harry joined them and they continued showing them all manner of charms ranging from odd to completely pointless.

After only a few minutes, Mr. Weasley walked into the room, asking Ron if he could have some help clearing out an old closet. Ron reluctantly agreed and told the others that he'd see them at lunch. Before he left, Harry gave him a sympathetic look, and whispered an apology.

"Don't worry about it, Harry," Ron said. "You look tired, anyway."

When Ron left, Bill and Charlie looked at Harry. "What was that about?" Bill asked.

"Er, nothing," Harry replied. "Just... Well, I don't think your dad really needed help with the closet. I think he just wanted to... er... talk to Ron."

Everyone's eyes widened in realization. Ginny seemed paler than the rest of them. "Did... Did he... _talk_ to you?"

"Well... no, it was Lupin but..." Harry glanced at Bill and Charlie. They wouldn't tell Molly, would they? He decided to risk it. "We were talking about something else, but Molly walked in—"

"And _that_ was the excuse he used?" Charlie asked with a broad smile. "And it got Mum thinking..." He sat down and laughed loudly.

Bill just shook his head. "He was telling you about the Order, was he? About what we've been doing?" Harry nodded. Bill just smiled. "He's a braver man than I am. Mum would have skinned him if she'd known the truth. It was a good cover, though Ron might not agree."

After Ron heard the story, he wasn't laughing. "Yeah, that's great," he said sarcastically. "Lupin gets out of a row with Mum, and I end up being subjected to the most painfully awkward conversation with my dad." Harry tried not to laugh, but Ginny and Hermione were snickering.

When Lupin saw them later, he gave Ron and apologetic look and slipped him a Chocolate Frog. By then, Ron had moved on to simple acceptance of his ordeal and was able to fully enjoy the frog. There really wasn't much else to do, and they spent the rest of their day exploring the Black House.

Dinner was less of an event that night. Fred and George both showed up, as did Charlie. Bill's absence was unexplained, as was the lack of questions regarding it. The shattering of a china vase announced Tonks' arrival. Moody, who'd only recently appeared at Grimmauld Place rolled his normal eye. She'd arrived just as everyone else was sitting down at the table. With a little shifting and a few Summoning Spells another place was set and she took her place near Harry and his friends.

Dinner felt as comfortable and familiar as his bedroom had. Harry wasn't terribly hungry anymore, but he thoroughly enjoyed his dinner. He was convinced that this was the way his life was supposed to be. After dinner, the adults congregated in the parlor, playing and watching others play games.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny joined them. Harry was surprised at the amount of activity in the House. Considering its location was supposed to be completely secret, there certainly was quite a bit of traffic in and out of it. Everyone was still remaining quiet about their reasons for leaving and returning, though.

Bill walked in late that night with a nasty bruise across one of his eyes. One of the Aurors Harry hadn't seen before took care of it, and a few minutes later he started a game of chess against Lupin. When Ginny asked how he'd gotten the bruise, he shrugged it off.

"Nothing interesting," he said stiffly. "Just a bit of a disagreement in a pub."

Harry knew he wasn't telling the truth. Ginny was frowning too, but they both knew that they'd get no better explanation. Had he been fighting Death Eaters? How dangerous had it been?

Those questions were still swirling in Harry's head as he laid in his bed. It somehow seemed worse to think that Bill and Charlie were doing anything dangerous. Would that mean that Fred and George could be, as well? If they were, then Ron and Ginny were the only Weasley's who weren't already fighting the Death Eaters. Harry thought back to the photo Moody had shown him last year, and how many of the wizards in the photo weren't alive anymore.

Ginny and Ron were supposed to be the ones who were safe from all of that, and instead they'd both found ways to get close to the one person who would put them in danger. But, laying there, staring at the stag on the mantle, Harry realized that this was simply the way things were meant to be. Almost out of habit, he closed his eyes and tried to clear all thoughts from his mind before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next day was little different to the previous one, and Harry found it much more relaxing than monotonous. After the first term he'd had, he didn't mind a little boredom. They day after that was Christmas Eve, and it seemed even busier than the day Harry had arrived.

Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared at Grimmauld Place just before lunch and spent a couple hours locked in one of the studies with Mad-Eye Moody. He stopped just long enough to say hello to Harry and the other Gryffindors before disappearing. Professor McGonagall arrived and claimed one of the smaller bedrooms. She explained that she would be staying just until Dumbledore arrived the next day.

Harry had pretty much forgotten about Dumbledore. After not following them, Harry had assumed that, like everyone else, he simply had more important things to do than keep Harry company. However, Harry was still happy that Dumbledore would be showing up for Christmas.

Everyone seemed to head off to bed early that night. Harry felt somewhat excited about the next morning. It would be the first Christmas he'd had with a real family, even if it wasn't really his family. His dreams, however, were not equally happy. There was nothing new about them, but it was worse knowing that the man he watched die in his nightmares had created this room just for him.

Again and again, he fell asleep only to wake up some time later. Each time he tried harder to block out any thoughts he had, but it didn't help. He didn't even care so much about the nightmares. He simply wanted the night to end. The next day was Christmas. Everything was going to be alright.

* * *

Christmas morning was bright and windy. Instead of sunlight, Harry awoke to the howling sound of wind whipping past his windows. Normally, he and Ron would wake each other up, and as Harry squinted out the window, he realized that it was somewhat later than he'd expected. He still felt exhausted, but he didn't want to keep anyone waiting.

As he'd expected, Ron and Hermione were awake and waiting for him. In a unique twist, Hermione was toying with a large wooden case while Ron was paging through a book. They were surrounded by scraps of paper and empty boxes.

"Morning, Harry," Ron greeted him cheerily. "We were about to send the twins to wake you up." As tired as he felt, it was worth getting out of bed early to avoid being woken up by Fred and George.

Harry sat down next to Ron and looked over his shoulder to try and figure out what book he was so interested in. Ron noticed and held the book up for Harry to see. Across the top, in sharp letters, was the title: "Keeping Secrets". Harry was confused for a moment before looking beneath the title to see a set of three circles with lines poking down below them. They were Quidditch hoops.

"Katie sent it with Fred," Ron explained. "I bet she's got big hopes for us in the first match. It'll be Slytherin in front of the International Confederation of Wizards. It's sure to draw quite a crowd."

As people realized that Harry had woken, they gathered in the parlor to hand him a small number of gifts. It wasn't nearly so many as he'd been given for his birthday, but it was still more than any other Christmas he could remember.

Ron and Hermione had pooled enough Galleons to buy him a nice cloak. It wouldn't make him invisible, but it was supposed to protect him against fire and some less violent injuries. Tonks handed him a book titled _Practical Concealment and Disguise_.

"It's barely been used," Tonks said brightly. "I figured you might get more use out of it than I did."

Harry smiled. It must the book used for Auror training. Harry smiled back at her and thanked her. It wasn't as if he really needed the book now, or that he wouldn't be able to afford it if he needed it, it simply felt good to know that his friends believed in him and supported him.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given him a new bag to hold his books. His old one was starting to fray and rip in places. He'd also received his very own sweater, a dark green with a grey H across the chest. The twins had brought him (and Ron) an assortment of merchandise from their shop. As Harry rifled through the crate from Fred and George, Bill handed him a small box.

With a surprised look, Harry carefully unwrapped the curiously heavy box. Inside was a small crystal globe. At first, Harry thought it was some larger version of an Obscuring Orb. But as he pulled it out he realized it was on a small stand. Setting the box aside, Harry stood it on the palm of his hand and looked closely at it.

The glittering mist inside swirled and condensed into a number of nearly identifiable shapes. For a moment, Harry thought it had formed the shape of a stag, but it melted away too quickly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's a Razjani Crystal," he answered, "but the shops call them Comfort Stones. They're supposed to be able to help you relax and cheer you up. Mostly, they just show you pleasant things."

Harry stared into the crystal and for a brief moment, the mist shifted into an unmistakable image of Ginny. Harry quickly put it back in the box.

"Er... thanks Bill, I, er..."

"Don't thank me," Bill said with a curious look at Harry, "Ginny asked me to give it to you. She ran off to dress and clean up just a short while before you woke up."

Harry stared at the crystal in its box. Had Ginny known it would do that? Harry had to admit that he had felt somewhat more relaxed as he had stared into it. It might not be such a bad thing to have around after Advanced Potions.

"There is one last thing, Harry," Lupin said as Harry sealed the crystal in its box. "I know this is a bit early, but he... well... I guess I think it's best you have this now."

Lupin handed him a heavy envelope. Harry took some care in trying to peel it open, but finally gave up and ripped it open. Inside, a single clean piece of parchment was folded in thirds. As Harry opened it and read it, his jaw dropped. He looked up at Lupin, who looked rather worried.

"It's... it's mine?"

"That's right Harry."

"But... all the work, everyone who uses it..."

"What's it say, Harry?" Ron asked impatiently.

"It says that Grimmauld Place is mine," Harry recited in a hollow voice.

"—Not until you turn seventeen—" Lupin corrected.

"Sirius left it to me." Harry continued before pausing and looked at Lupin in confusion. "But how... Did he expect to—"

"Oh, he didn't expect to die, Harry," Lupin said in a soft voice. "That was always the last thing on his mind. No, it has nothing to do with his death. He gave this place to you. That document was signed last year. He didn't want to force himself into your life. He wanted this to be your home, a replacement for the one you lost and repayment for the favor your father did for him. He hoped you would let him stay, but he wanted it to be your choice."

"But... what about everyone else? What about the Order?"

"That will be up to you," Lupin answered. "Of course we would like to continue using it, and there is plenty of room, but it is a decision that you alone will get to make."

Harry sat motionless and silent for a moment. It was almost too much to understand at the time. Sirius had given him almost everything he owned. He'd simply signed it over hoping that Harry wouldn't throw him out. Harry looked about the room. Sirius had created it. While the rest of the Order was looking after him, he'd spent his time fixing up the house, knowing it wouldn't be his.

"I, er... I think I'm going to wash up and get dressed," Harry announced quietly. Lupin nodded and reached out a hand to help Harry to his feet. Without another word, Harry quietly walked out of the room. He needed time to think, and his familiarity with the old house hadn't improved much in the last few days. He headed to the only place that he felt comfortable: his bedroom.

As he climbed the staircases and walked through the twisting hallways, he couldn't ignore all the signs he'd missed before. The painting of Sirius' mother had been permanently encased in granite, and now acted as a coat rack for any guests. The heads of all the house elves were removed, as were countless other wall decorations Harry could scarcely remember.

More importantly, there were subtle additions that certainly hadn't been there the Order moved in. The door-knockers on all the doors were ornate lion heads holding large gold rings in their jaws. Paintings of stuffy old warlocks were gone, replaced by a host of things oddly familiar to Harry. At the top of the stairs hung a large painting of a hippogriff taking flight. There was also a painting of a large horned dragon, and another of a knight fighting off a ancient-looking snake.

The Order had been working for a year at making the place livable, but Sirius had been making into a home for his godson. Harry didn't need Lupin to tell him why. He could almost see and feel the answer as he walked past a large portrait of Nicholas Flammel. Sirius felt that he'd failed Harry, and this house was to be part of the never-ending apology for Harry's loss.

How had he not seen it earlier? Had it started before he even got there last summer? How much had changed already when he was trying to hide from everyone last Christmas? The guilt he felt was strong enough to ignore the fact that his door was already open when he walked through it. He turned and gave it a rough shove. The loud slamming of the door echoed in the room, and mixed with the panicked shriek of a girl.

"Ginny?" Harry asked as he stared at his bed. Ginny had been lying on her stomach, but was now twisting to stare back at Harry with a face which was turning increasingly brighter shades of red. After a moment of looking utterly horrified, she pushed herself up and flailed about a bit as she tried to get off the bed as quickly as possible.

She managed to both succeed and fail. As she slid off the side of the bed, she lost her footing and tumbled quite ungracefully to the floor. She landed hard on the wooden floor, forcing out another shriek. As she sprawled in pain, the thick robe she was wearing flopped open exposing her legs. With a third (and final) yelp she sat up and slid against the corner where she proceeded to cover her face with her hands.

Harry stared at her, dumbfounded. He had almost said something, and had even taken a step forward to try and help her when she'd fallen, but he stopped when it became obvious that, like him, she still hadn't gotten dressed.

"Were you, er... sleeping in my bed?" Harry asked as he tried to look at her without making it seem like he was looking at her.

"NO!" she shouted from behind her hands, "I mean, Yes!" she corrected as her hands pulled away from her face. It was as violently red as Harry expected, and she covered her face again with a frustrated whimper a second later. "I... I was just relaxing."

"Don't you have a room on the second floor?"

"Yes," Ginny answered defensively. "I, er..." she started as she slowly pulled her hands away from her face. Her face was still rather pink, and she refused to look at Harry. "I just wanted to see what it was like," she explained. "I've never seen this room. No one has. Sir—" Ginny paused and glanced at Harry for a moment before looking away. She continued with a quieter voice. "Sirius always kept it locked up. Only Remus ever came in here. We always wondered what was in here. I guess Lupin knew Sirius wouldn't mind if you stayed here."

Harry turned and walked to the fireplace and stared at the small statue of the stag. "He wouldn't. He gave it to me."

"He... Sirius gave you the room?"

"No. He gave me the whole house. All I have to do is send in a piece of parchment and it's mine when I turn seventeen."

Ginny was speechless. She slowly stood up and sat on the edge of Harry's bed. Harry gently touched the figurine, and it shimmered brightly as it bowed and shook its antlers.

"Oh, I had a gift for you. I—I didn't want to give it to you in front of everyone else, because... well..." He trailed off, hoping that the knew what he meant. After rummaging in his trunk for a bit, he pulled out a long, flat box and handed it to Ginny.

She gave it a curious look, then pulled off the loose cover. Harry felt his heart beating quickly as she stared into the box, and then leap into his throat as her eyes and mouth both opened wide.

"Harry, it's amazing," she exclaimed as she pulled a long gold chain from the box. At the end was a long, slender crystal that shown with faint flame red light. She slowly lowered it back into the box. "I can't accept this. This must have cost—"

"Don't worry about that," Harry interrupted. "I'll manage. I hoped you would be able to wear it with your dress robes."

"It'll look wonderful," Ginny said as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand."

"Well, thanks for the crystal," Harry said.

"Oh, it was nothing compared to this. I... I had something else for you, but I can't give it to you now."

"Why not?"

Ginny made a sound that was something between a laugh and a sob. "I don't know if you'll like it, and it's rubbish compared to this." With a little encouragement, though, Harry convinced her to pull a small box from her pocket and hand it to him.

He opened it carefully and stared at the contents. Inside was a single silver chain with a small silver talisman of a snake looped around it, its head and tail hanging down and twisted together.

"It's a snake. I haven't a lot of fun with snakes."

"I know," Ginny mumbled. She was hiding her face. "I wasn't thinking, I guess. I thought..." Ginny kept rambling and Harry struggled to make any sense of it. It seemed as if she was on the verge of tears again.

"I— I've never forgotten waking up in the... It was horrible, and yet... It was a stupid idea. I'm sorry." She reached for the box, but Harry pulled it out of her reach.

The eyes of the talisman were two tiny jewels. They were deep red, like Voldemort's eyes, and yet, Harry was intrigued by them. They symbolized so much that he despised: Slytherins, the Basilisk, Voldemort, and the events which left him a Parseltongue.

"What does it do?" Harry asked as he stared into the eyes.

Ginny choked and looked down at the jewel clutched in her hands. "What does it do?" she repeated. "It's just a necklace, Harry. I saw it in a catalog and thought of you... and me... and I just ordered it. It's just a decoration... It was a bad idea—"

Harry silenced her by taking the chain and clasping it behind his neck. It felt good somehow. It felt defiant. Strong. It wasn't just a symbol of everything bad in his life, it was a symbol of everything that had changed him and made him what he was.

Malfoy's arrogance had made him choose Gryffindor. His mistreatment of Neville had made Harry realize his talent on a broom. Voldemort had taken his parents, but left Harry with the only chance the world had of defeating him. His ability to speak Parseltongue had allowed him to defeat Tom Riddle and save Ginny's life. The connection he shared with Voldemort, the connection they both learned about through Nagini, was the reason he and Ginny had formed their conspiracy.

It was a symbol of everything that had brought them together.

"No. I think I understand." He tucked the chain under his dressing gown. Ginny smiled and wiped at her eyes again.

Harry was suddenly aware that he was alone in his room with Ginny. His throat was tight and he couldn't get himself to swallow. The pounding of his heart seemed to echo in his own ears. Ginny's face seemed to be getting closer and closer until he could feel her short, rapid breathing against his lips.

For a brief moment, Harry felt his lips pressing against Ginny's, before a sharp tapping at the door made Ginny jerk away. The brief feeling of bliss was replaced with panic as Harry and Ginny searched the room for some place for her to hide.

"I'm, er... I'm getting dressed!" Harry called out as Ginny searched in vain for a closet. How could Sirius forget a closet? Was he supposed to live out of his trunk for the rest of his life?

"Harry? Can I have a word?"

There was a faint gasp as Ginny recognized the voice. It was Mr. Weasley. They might have been okay if it had been Hermione or even Lupin, but Arthur would require quite a bit more explaining. As quickly as he could, Harry leapt for his trunk and tossed the contents on the floor. As Arthur knocked a second time, a ball of fabric sailed toward Ginny. She recognized it in an instant, and pulled the Invisibility Cloak over her head just as the door opened with a faint creak.

"Hello, Harry," Arthur said cheerily. "I just wanted to let you know that the Order will be getting together tonight. They've all been invited here for Christmas dinner. Molly still doesn't want any talk of Order business around you, but I've convinced her that it should be up to you."

"Oh... Alright."

"Everyone will understand if you don't want to hear about it. I'm sure you spend enough time dealing with those sort of things. It really wouldn't be a problem."

"No," Harry answered. "I think I'd rather know what's going on. It's not really something I can avoid." He tried to keep his voice even to hide the gripping fear he felt in his stomach. Ginny was standing not ten feet from Mr. Weasley, or at least she had been.

"Alright, Harry. There is another thing I wanted to talk to you about." Arthur looked momentarily uncomfortable, and Harry felt his stomach clench at the thought of Arthur talking to Harry about girls.

_Please don't do this with Ginny here,_ he silently begged.

"By tonight everyone will have heard about what Lupin just gave you. And with the entire Order together, it's almost certain that someone will ask you about what you intend to do about Grimmauld Place."

"I... I guess—"

"You don't have to answer now," Arthur interrupted. "In fact, I'd rather you not tell me. Moody would never stop asking if he knew you'd told me. Just give it some thought, and be ready to say something tonight, even if you just say that you'll decide later. I just didn't want you to be unprepared. And Harry..."

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry about us. I mean Molly, Ron, Ginny and I." Arthur was the one who looked embarrassed now. "The Burrow might not be safe, but we'll do fine, even if we aren't here. Dumbledore will see that we're safe."

Harry nodded silently, unsure of what he should say. Arthur turned to leave, but stopped at the door.

"I don't suppose you've seen Ginny? Ron said she went to her room, but she's not answering."

Harry looked away and pretended to pick up his clothes. He didn't want to lie to Mr. Weasley, but at least he wouldn't have to look at him while he did. He tried to think of something to say. "I didn't see her on the way up," he said truthfully, "And I don't see her in here anywhere."

"'Course not," Arthur replied. "No one's been allowed in here. I've only seen it once myself. She's probably just locked herself in her room again. I'd hoped she'd be over that after a term of school. I suppose she is just a fifteen year old girl. Molly wasn't all that different when she was Ginny's age."

As Harry listened to Arthur walking away, Ginny suddenly appeared in the center of the room, not far from Harry's desk. She quickly folded the cloak into a neat package and scowled at the door.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Ginny asked with a disgruntled whisper. "He has no idea what I've been doing."

"Right, of course," Harry said in a placating tone. "Shouldn't you be finding a way to make it seem like you haven't spent the last hour in a room you're not supposed to be in?"

"I suppose you're right," she admitted with a frown. "Er, I don't suppose you'd let me borrow the Cloak, would you?"

"Sure, but it won't do any good if Moody's around."

"I'll take my chances."

With a flourish, Ginny covered herself with the Cloak and Harry watched the door open. "Goodbye, Harry," he heard her whisper. "I, er... I enjoyed it... the— well, you know." Before Harry could answer the door closed and he heard faint footsteps leading away from his room.

When Harry returned after cleaning up and finding some comfortable clothes, he found Hermione alone in the parlor sitting on one of the couches and reading a very old book. Harry took a seat next to her.

"Where'd everyone go?"

"Somewhere else."

Harry paused and looked at her. She was still staring at her book and seemed to be ignoring him. "Well, do you know where Ron is?"

"Well he's not here, is he?"

"No," Harry responded with a little annoyance. "I already know where he isn't."

Hermione finally looked up from her book to glare at Harry with narrowed, slightly bloodshot eyes. "He left," she said with a bitter smile. "He wanted to find something _interesting_ to do," she almost sneered. She returned to her book, but kept talking. "He's probably drooling over some Cannons poster or helping Fred and George find some shocking new way of doing something pointless."

"I'll try the drawing room, then," Harry said as he stood up. "I think I can handle that myself, but I'll let you know if he turns up." He heard an annoyed huff as he walked off toward the stairs.

Ron wasn't in the drawing room, or the room Harry guessed was his bedroom. It seemed that Hermione wasn't really in the mood for company (which explained why everyone else had left), and there wasn't really anything else Harry had to do, so he decided he might as well explore the place while he looked for Ron.

He found Buckbeak's old room, but no sign of Buckbeak. Perhaps the Order had released him. The room still had a large set of quilts in the corner, but most of the small bones had been cleaned up. There was a set of large glass doors leading to a wide balcony. He could see why Sirius would have liked the room as well. From the balcony you could see quite a bit of the city.

He found a large storage closet that the Order used to store all sorts of bizarre things. He recognized the Invisibility Cloak hanging on the peg near the door, but most of the other items were complete mysteries to him.

He kept searching and eventually heard voices coming up from the cellar. He carefully descended the steep, stone steps, expecting to find some dank dungeon that only Snape would find charming. Instead he found a clean and surprisingly bright room filled with chairs and shelves of books and trinkets. Fred and George were sitting in the middle of the floor with Ron and Ginny in chairs on either side of them.

"Oh, hello Harry," George called out. "Don't suppose your up for testing out one of our new items? Hasn't even made it to the shelves yet."

"I think I'll pass," Harry said as he tried to decide where he should sit.

"Figured you would," Fred said with a dejected sigh. "Everyone gets so cautious around Christmas."

"I guess no one really wants to end up without any hair for all those Christmas photos," Ginny added with a laugh. Her hand was rubbing something on her upper chest. Harry tried to see what it was when he realized that she was probably wearing her necklace. He decided it was probably best if he didn't sit next to her.

"Did you see Hermione around up there?" Ron asked as Harry sat down next to him. Fred and George rolled their eyes, and looked away.

"Er, yeah. She's reading some book."

"Figures," Ron mumbled. "Everyone is coming here to take a break from whatever they've been doing, but she wants to read a book. And I'm supposed to sit there with her? She's mental."

Ginny was frowning and rubbing her eyes. "She probably didn't think she'd have any time to, er... read once everyone else showed up. I'm sure she'll join in later."

"Right, I'm sure she'll be dancing on the tables with the rest of us tonight," George said sarcastically. "Forget about that, Harry. We've got something to show you." They slid a heavy box over toward Harry, and started pulling out a number of heavy cloth bags of various sizes. "Most of these aren't ready to be sold yet, but none of them should cause any damage."

"—any permanent damage—" Fred corrected.

"Right. No permanent damage."

Despite his initial concerns, nothing the twins showed the three of them had left anything more than some scorch marks on the floor. He had to admit that some of them were quite clever, bordering almost on downright useful. Lupin had apparently been helping them try to figure out how the Marauder's Map had been made, and they'd succeeded in making maps of their shop which labeled people's pets, but never the people themselves.

They also had made a simple metal ring which could be fit around a broomstick that would noticeably reduce its speed. They tried to loan it to Harry for year's Quidditch season but he forced himself to turn it down. As good as it would feel to see Malfoy struggling with his expensive broom, he knew that Hermione would never forgive him.

As Fred and George showed them more of the things they'd been creating, Harry could hear more people walking around the floor above him. The Order had started arriving. A few minutes later, Molly's voice echoed down the stairs asking them to come up and help prepare dinner.

Ron, Ginny and Harry climbed the stairs as Fred and George carefully packed up their things. When they got to the kitchen there were already several wizards at work. Lupin was slowly growing the table as a pair of witches were duplicating chairs to fit it.

"...but he wasn't much for talking after that," one of them said as the chair in front of her split in two and slowly grew into to separate chairs. "Pity. He was drunk enough to start talking about the place they'd been meeting, some place pretty far north it seemed. I mentioned it to Dumbledore but he didn't believe it could be too close to—"

Her voice stopped short as a heavy spoon struck the sink. The witch looked up and stared at Harry. "Oh," she said with wide eyes. "Hello, Harry. Er... I didn't see you come in. I'm Eustice Meade." Molly was scowling at her.

Harry frowned. For a moment he simply stood where he was as he tried to breathe and calm himself. The other witch he recognized as Hestia Jones. She was looking away from him and Molly. Everyone in the room seemed to avoiding looking at him except Lupin. His eyes seemed to plead with Harry to restrain himself. The door to the parlor opened, and Hermione stepped into the kitchen.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Harry growled as he strode toward the doorway and pushed past Hermione. He heard the door close behind him as he walked along the wall to the back of the parlor. Several wizards were in here as well, but they were lounging in chairs and paid little attention to him. A moment later, the door opened again and Harry heard Lupin's voice coming in from the kitchen.

"...telling you it's just making things worse. You heard what Dumbledore said, Harry can't..."

The door closed, shutting the argument out. Harry took a seat in the darkest corner he could find and turned his back on the rest of the occupants of the room.

"Mind if I sit with you?"

Harry turned to see Ginny standing next to him. She looked as upset as he felt, though he couldn't imagine why.

"You're not worried about what they might say?"

"Don't care," Ginny said as she pulled a high backed chair over and sat next to him, shielding him from the rest of the room. They sat silently for a while until the door to the kitchen opened again. This time, the only noises coming from it were the sounds of plates being put on a heavy wooden table.

"I'm sorry about that, Harry," Lupin said, completely ignoring Ginny.

"You're sorry about just that, or about the last six years of that," Harry grumbled.

"Both, I guess," Lupin answered. "She didn't mean for it to be like this. She just wanted you to relax and be happy." There was a long pause as Lupin waited for a response that never came. "It's ending now. You're all members of the Order. You'll be treated just like everyone else."

"Which means I'll still be in the dark?"

"Probably. We're all in the dark, Harry. You probably know more about what is going on than anyone, and you're telling us less than we're telling you."

"You have no idea what—"

"No, I don't!" Lupin agreed urgently. "I know, Harry. As I said, we all have our jobs. Molly was simply trying doing hers, and I'm trying to do mine. You're doing yours, too, and better than any of us could ask."

Harry felt his anger slowly flowing away from him. He looked over at Ginny and saw her staring back at him. Her eyes held so much pride, trust and concern. He felt as if his back had turned to jelly. He slumped in his chair and just relaxed. Finally someone had admitted that Harry was being put through as much as anyone else. Before he was able to relax too much, he heard the steady thump of wood on the floor.

"So they're to be treated no different, are they?" Moody growled as he appeared behind Ginny.

"Harry's done a lot more than many of us, Mad-Eye," Lupin stated calmly.

"And she's done more to stop us than many Death Eaters," Moody snarled back at him. "And here they are together." Moody's magical eye locked onto Ginny, while his normal eye looked at Harry. "I hear you've been told about Sirius' gift?" Harry nodded.

"So what's it going to be? Are you going to take your father's place in the Order or you going to turn us out?"

"It's not mine until I'm seventeen," Harry said evenly. He'd never imagine kicking the Weasley's out, or any of the rest of the Order, but something about the ex-Auror's tone annoyed him. "It doesn't really matter what I say now."

Moody seemed just as annoyed as Harry was. "Your father never needed to be asked. He helped wherever he could." Harry saw his normal eye glance over at Ginny. "And Lily never stood in the way." Ginny bristled, but refused to move from her chair.

"If he listened to me, he'd let everyone stay but you," she said acidly.

Moody turned both of his eyes on Harry. "You be careful, Harry. The last thing you need is a woman using you for her own purposes. "

Lupin stepped between Harry and Moody. "That's quite enough, Alastor. I believe it's just about time for dinner."

Taking his cue, Harry and Ginny both stood and followed him into the kitchen. Harry was certain that Moody wasn't far behind him, but he refused to look. Others were already drifting toward the door, and the kitchen was quickly filling up.

Everyone was making their way to the table, and Harry quickly found Ron. To his surprise, Hermione was sitting next to him and both of them were too engrossed in some conversation to even notice Harry and Ginny walk in. Instead of being at each other's throats, they were smiling. Hermione was even leaning on Ron's shoulder as she laughed. Harry and Ginny looked at each other and shrugged.

Harry sat across from Ron, and Ginny across from Hermione. They were at one end of the table, close to many of the younger members of the Order. Tonks took a seat next to Hermione and Bill and Charlie sat next to Ginny. Fred and George took seats next to Ron.

Harry watched as quite a few people he didn't recognize sat down closer to the middle of the table. Lupin sat near Arthur and Molly, along with Kingsley Shacklebolt and a number of Aurors. Seats were starting to get scarce, but a number of seats on the far end were still unoccupied and there was someone that Harry was still waiting to see.

Not much later, Harry saw what he'd been waiting for. The door from the parlor opened and Fawkes swooped in perched in a clearing of the tiny trees near the fireplace. An instant later, Dumbledore and McGonagall stepped through the door. He hadn't expected what happened next.

Severus Snape slipped into the kitchen, seeming to skirt the edge of the room. He joined Dumbledore and McGonagall at the opposite end of the table. Ron, Hermione and Ginny had also noticed his entrance. Ginny seemed to be staring at him in shock, while Ron and Hermione simply scowled.

"What's that git doing here?" Ron asked under his breath.

"Dumbledore probably didn't want to leave the students at Hogwarts alone with him," George mumbled.

Something kept bumping into Harry's foot, and he looked quickly to see what it was. Of course, as soon as he looked, it stopped. When he looked up again, Ginny was looking at him as if he'd just done something stupid.

"What?" he asked quietly.

Ginny said something through her teeth, but Harry couldn't catch it over Ron's complaints about Snape ruining Christmas dinner. When he failed to catch it a second time, she spoke louder.

"Mark," she in a low voice into Harry's ear.

"What are you talking about?"

"On his hand," Ginny said as she nodded toward the other end of the table. Harry looked over as Snape sat down across from McGonagall. Dumbledore was changing his chair into one with more cushions.

They'd guessed that Snape had been marked before, but no one had known where. "How do you know?" Harry asked her as discretely as he could.

"Just do," Ginny mumbled as she looked away from Harry. Tonks had noticed them talking and was smiling oddly. Could she hear what they were saying?

Harry looked back at Snape. He was giving Harry a sour look. He couldn't have heard what they'd said. He had never needed an excuse to be disgruntled around Harry. He was probably as put off by Harry's attendance as Harry was of his. Harry tried to push Ginny's comments from his mind for now. He'd discuss it with his friends later. There were too many people paying attention to him at the moment.

The food was as good as anything he'd ever had at Hogwarts for Christmas. Molly received quite a few compliments, and even Harry admitted that the treacle tart was better than even the house elves had made the year before.

Regardless of how good the food was, it didn't keep the rest of the Order from watching Harry closely. He felt more relaxed than he might have felt sitting alone at Hogwarts, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could stand the looks and treatment of the other Order members. He felt almost relieved when everyone had finished eating and Dumbledore suggested they move to the parlor.

As they filed into the larger room, the fire in the fireplaces grew, spreading heat and light throughout the room. Some of the members were exchanging gifts with others they hadn't seen yet that day. As Harry walked in, he saw Moody and Mrs. Weasley deep in some conversation. They seemed to finish, and Mrs. Weasley immediately walked over to ask Ginny to help her clean up. Ginny glared at Moody, who had a crooked smile on his face, and followed her mother back into the kitchen. Harry headed for the back corner again, with Ron and Hermione following him.

The rest of the wizards in the room broke into a number of separate conversations, most of them rather uninteresting. With all of them spread out, Harry was able to notice anyone who might be missing. Other than Hagrid (who was spending the holiday in France), the most obvious absence was Mundungus Fletcher. No doubt he found his own way to celebrate the holiday. However, it seemed that Dedalus Diggle and Emmeline Vance were both gone. When he was fairly certain everyone was engrossed in their own conversations, he spoke to Ron and Hermione in a low voice.

"Snape was marked," he announced quietly.

Ron leaned closer. "I thought we already knew that?" he hissed.

"I was only guessing," Harry replied. "Ginny's certain of it now."

"Where?" Hermione asked quietly.

"His hand." Harry paused as Ron and Hermione exchanged curious looks. "Yeah, I know. I'm not sure I understand either."

"Well, Millicent was marked on her hand, and from the way you two talked about it, Snape was just as responsible as she was for Hermione's hand."

"Alright, then why was he marked two months later?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged. "Maybe whoever is doing it has a busy schedule."

"I doubt it," Hermione commented. "They got to Snape within hours of his argument with Harry."

Harry agreed. There was something they weren't thinking of. Harry racked his mind. Snape had never touched him, or thrown anything at him (at least, not that year). Neither Ron nor Hermione were able to think of anything either. In the end, Harry just decided to put it aside, and hope that some explanation would come to him later.

When Ginny returned some time later, they had given up and were simply listening in to other conversations around the room. Ron gave her a strange look, and when she said nothing, he took a more direct route.

"What was that about?" he asked. Ginny just blinked at him. Ron rolled his eyes and tried again. "What did mum want to talk to you about?"

She glared at him. "Why don't you tell me?"

"I can't. She wasn't talking to me, was she?"

Ginny smiled. "That's right, Ronald, she wasn't." She turned away, leaving Ron to stare pointlessly at her long red hair as she started talking to Harry. "If you wanted to know what the Order's been up to, now's your chance."

Taking her advice Harry looked around the room. Slowly, the talk was turning to Order business, and he could hear several of them discussing various missions they'd been on.

Charlie, it seemed, had been traveling between England and Romania quite a bit over the last few months. He didn't say what he'd been doing in Romania, but he seemed to be worried about whatever it was. The Aurors were talking about a number of missing people, most of them expected Death Eaters.

For once, no one seemed to be paying much attention to Harry, and no one cut off any conversations upon seeing him in the back of the room. The four of them sat quietly listening to whatever they could hear, mentally noting anything that seemed worthwhile. Much of it didn't seem to make sense at first. Bill had already mentioned over a dozen pubs he'd visited, and Tonks and Hestia Jones were comparing stories about Quidditch matches.

"Must be hard," Ron mumbled, "Quidditch matches _and_ pubs. I wonder if they have time to do any _real_ work."

However, the reasons behind them became fairly clear. Eustice Meade had mentioned talking with some drunk wizard. It seemed Bill had been in a bit of a fight at one pub just a few days before. Tonks and various other members had been watching the Quidditch matches and concerts. They had been working with the Aurors trying to find the missing Death Eaters. While they seemed be gathering somewhere, they didn't stay there all the time, and several had been seen at various pubs and other entertainment events.

The Order was trying to track them, and if possible, get them to talk about what they'd been doing. However, it seemed that it was getting harder and harder to find them, and more dangerous. The fight Bill had been in had started after another wizard at the pub he was in recognized him. That wizard had been put on a 'Suspected Death Eaters' list, but both he and the wizard Bill had been watching disappeared. At the moment, it was uncertain whether they were even alive.

Overall, they hadn't accomplished very much, but there really wasn't much to work with. Everyone seemed to expect Voldemort to act much more aggressive than he was. Few of them seemed to take the attacks at Hogwarts seriously. Only Kingsley Shacklebolt seemed to think they were an immediate concern.

"Maybe Dumbledore's propaganda is working a little too well," Hermione commented.

Harry tried to ignore it. There were plenty of Aurors at Hogwarts, and it only mattered that Kingsley took it seriously. It might have been helpful if some of the members spent more time trying to figure out who had attacked the students, but why should anyone think they might have any better chance than the small army of Aurors?

As the night wore on, more people formed small groups around various games. Much like Halloween, there were a few that Harry had never seen before. Ginny and Ron tried to explain them all to Harry and Hermione, and Harry thought he understood most of them. One of them, which Ron had called Knacktop, was played with a deck of cards and a number of colored cubes. Ron had explained it three times when Harry gave up and simply tried to understand by watching it. Partway through the game (or so Harry guessed), Tonks announced she was leaving and stopped to wish Harry a good night.

"You're leaving?" Ron asked skeptically. "But it was finally starting to get fun."

"Sorry 'bout that," Tonks apologized. "I've already made plans for the night."

"Don't suppose those plans involve a tall bloke who's pretty good with a Quaffle, do they?" Fred called out from the floor where he and George were playing a four person game of Exploding Snap.

"They might, not that it would be any of your business," she replied with smile. "He's got a cozy castle on the coast near Blackpool."

Ron looked scandalized. "You're leaving _this_ to go sit in a tower with that Chaser from the Tornadoes?"

Hermione gave a frustrated sigh. "Yes, Ron. It's called a romantic evening."

"Says you. I call it a few hours of boredom."

"Of course you would," Hermione snapped. Tonks gave Harry and Ginny an apologetic look as Ron and Hermione began a fresh argument. Or perhaps it was the same argument. It was difficult to tell. When Tonks walked off, Hermione stood and walked off with her. They talked for a minute before turning opposite directions. Tonks left Grimmauld Place, and Hermione went to her room.

Throughout the next two weeks, it became almost sickeningly common for Ron and Hermione to be arguing about something. Tonks' relationship with the Tornadoes' Chaser was a recurring cause, but they didn't seem to have any troubles finding reasons to fight even after Tonks began avoiding the entire topic.

Most bizarrely, when Ron and Hermione fought, she seemed to get annoyed with Harry and Ginny for no reason. This seemed to upset Ginny less than Harry, so he often left her to keep Hermione company when she was upset. It seemed that they simply had been spending too much time around each other. The return to Hogwarts was looking more and more encouraging. Perhaps more classes and homework would leave them less time to nettle each other.

All four of them tried to catch as much as they could of the work the Order had been doing. There wasn't much, and the longer he stayed, the more discouraged Harry got. He could see the same discouragement in the eyes of Lupin and Arthur and some of the older members. They were all feeling like they were losing a battle that wasn't even being fought.

It was clear that this war was not at all like the last. Voldemort was being cautious, restrained. He was waiting for something. All the Death Eaters were gathering, but doing nothing else. No one knew if they were recruiting wizards in other nations, or if they were all working to create some horrible plan that was still unfinished. Whatever it was they were doing, they weren't talking about it, and the Order had no idea what it was.

Harry looked forward to the day they were to return to Hogwarts. Grimmauld Place still felt like home, but it also seemed filled with a form of desperate uneasiness, and Harry couldn't escape the feeling that it was him they expected to put an end to it.

When he woke up the Saturday before the next term started, he found Fawkes perched on the mantle of the fireplace in the kitchen. Ron and Hermione had both noticed it, and they seemed as ready to return as he was. They waited for Dumbledore to show up nearly all day, but he didn't arrive until just before dinner. They ate a quick meal and after Lupin collected their trunks, Dumbledore gathered them all in the parlor. One by one they let Fawkes take them back to Hogwarts. Again, Harry was the last to go, and he found Ron, Hermione and Ginny waiting for him as he popped into the Gryffindor common room.

Dumbledore joined them with a final flash and puff of smoke. "Dobby will be bringing your trunks momentarily," he announced. "I understand that this is an unusual and somewhat mysterious request, but I must stress that you are not to leave the Tower until the students return tomorrow. The house elves should take care of any needs you might have."

The four of them seemed equally confused for a moment, but didn't argue with him. Harry had little desire to leave the Tower, and the rest of the students would be returning in less than a day. The only real danger was the thought of a day alone with Ron and Hermione. Still, if they fought, it would just give him a valid reason to spend more time with Ginny.

* * *


	28. Rule ThirtyThree

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 28 - Rule Thirty-Three**

* * *

The start of the new term came without much fanfare. The students returned to classes in better spirits than they had been when they left. No one asked any questions about where Harry had been over the holiday. Only the D.A. had any idea that Harry hadn't actually been at Hogwarts. 

The most notable change in the overall mood at Hogwarts had nothing to do with Death Eaters or attacks, but something that many of the students found more immediately threatening. Now that the Christmas Holiday was past, there was just less than two months before the Ball planned during the I.C.W. assembly. Throughout the school, there was a feeling of nervous stress as everyone started looking for dates.

Ginny had already told Harry that they shouldn't go to the Ball together. It was just too risky. Instead, she'd promised to sit with him, and help him find some other date for the ball. Harry agreed despite the disappointment it caused him. She was right. Until they had a better idea of why the attacks were happening, he didn't want to put her at any more risk.

There was, of course, a chance that he'd be putting whoever he asked at risk. He and Ginny had spoken about it for some time the day they'd returned to Hogwarts. His best course of action would be to try and keep the fact that he'd asked the girl fairly quiet. The only other option was to wait for the last moment. The idea of going with a girl who hadn't been able to find a date in two months didn't seem all that appealing, however.

So, all he needed to do was find some other girl that didn't think he attacked other students or attracted Death Eaters, and wouldn't mind having their feet stepped on while they danced. Surely he could find someone. As long as Parvati hadn't told everyone how horrible he was on the dance floor, he should have no trouble finding someone.

Now all he needed was the courage to ask them.

* * *

The first Saturday after the start of the term was surprisingly sunny, with only a slight breeze. A new blanket of freshly fallen snow covered the ground, and left a dusting of crystals on the trees and shrubs to sparkle in the sunlight. It was as perfect as anyone could expect a winter day to be. 

Harry spent his morning lounging around the common room with a number of other Gryffindors. Katie had spent the entire morning at one of the more secluded tables reading through an enormous Quidditch book and scribbling away at some piece of parchment.

After lunch, quite a few students headed outside to enjoy the beautiful day. Katie went back to her Quidditch book, but most of the other Gryffindors headed outside for sleigh rides and snowball fights. Harry had joined in for a short time, but ducked out when Ron and Hermione joined different teams. They were merciless with each other, and much to the surprise of everyone, Hermione proved to have excellent aim with snowballs.

"I can't tell if they're having fun, or if the fighting has just moved to a new battlefield," Ginny said as she flopped down next to him.

"I hope they're just releasing some pent up aggression toward each other," Harry replied as he stared off at the lake.

"Claire had a pretty miserable Christmas," Ginny said in a lower voice.

"I wish she could have come with us to Grimmauld Place," Harry replied as he watched a group of girls walking off to the lake with ice skates.

Ginny saw where he was looking. "You want to go ice skating?"

"No," Harry replied, "but I might be able to get a date to the ball."

Ginny looked at the group, then sat up and scanned the grounds, nodding. Harry had already looked. There were plenty of people around, yet no one was really paying much attention to each other. If he wanted to ask someone without it becoming a scene, this was a perfect opportunity. Ginny seemed to agree. She gave him a little smile and a nod toward the ice skaters.

Harry walked through the snow as quickly as he could. He'd recognized Susan Bones when she'd turned to watch the snowball fight. Her aunt was Madam Bones, who'd believed him at his trial the year before. She'd trusted him before. She was one of the original members of the D.A. He just had to catch her before she laced her skates up.

When he finally did catch up, she gave him an odd look as he asked if they could talk privately. Together, they walked back in the opposite direction she'd been going. They were still quite some distance from the lake, but Harry didn't want anyone else to be watching, so he led her to a group of trees that would make them a little less visible.

"What is it, Harry?" Susan asked when Harry stopped and faced her. "Did something happen over the holiday?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Oh. Did you see something, then?"

"No," Harry answered, wishing he'd thought this through a little more. "It's nothing like that. I wanted you to... er... I was hoping you would—no..."

"What is it Harry?" she prompted.

"I don't have a date for the Ball. I was wondering if you'd go with me." He closed his eyes, waiting for her to laugh at him or run away screaming, but it never happened.

"Oh," he heard her say. Harry opened his eyes to see her looking at him as if he'd just grown horns.

"You don't have to," he explained quickly. "It's not like its an order or something. I just—"

"Yes," she blurted out, stopping Harry in the middle of his attempt to apologize to her. "Yes, I'll go to the Ball with you." A smile crept across her face. "I can't wait to tell the others."

Harry felt a chill run down his spine. He hadn't thought of that. She'd want to go and tell her friends, and by the end of the day, everyone in Hogwarts would be talking about it. It wouldn't be that much different than if everyone found out about him and Ginny.

"Er... Would you do me a favor?"

"Sure, Harry, what is it?"

"Could you keep this quiet?" he asked. "I'm not embarrassed or anything," he explained quickly, seeing the disappointment on her face. "I just— Everyone thinks I don't have a date, and no one's been attacked because of it. I... I just don't want anyone to get hurt. We'll tell everyone closer to the ball."

Susan reluctantly agreed. They worked out answers to all the questions people might ask. Harry was to say that he didn't have a date at all, and Susan would claim that she had a date, but that she was keeping it a secret, except to her friends who'd just seen her talking with Harry.

Susan smiled brightly at him as she turned to make her way back to the lake. Harry turned the opposite direction and walked back toward the castle, feeling relieved that he'd not have to spend any more time thinking about that problem. In the distance he could see the last few students throwing snowballs back and forth. He also saw someone walking toward him. A moment later, Harry recognized Ginny's red hair as the wind caught it.

As they walked toward each other, Harry heard a faint scream. He broke into a run without thinking and covered the distance to Ginny quickly.

"What did you see?" he shouted when he saw that she seemed okay. Ginny just paused and stared back at him.

"I didn't see anything. What did you see?"

"I didn't— Why did you scream?"

Ginny stared back at Harry and shook her head. "I didn't scream. I felt... odd. I was worried so I came looking for you."

Harry was beginning to feel odd as well. He closed his eyes, hoping to see nothing more than blackness. Instead he saw what he was expecting: dark shapes moving quickly. He took a moment to concentrate. There were two of them, and they were running through trees. One of them was much shorter than the other.

Harry turned and bolted back toward the clump of trees where he'd been talking to Susan. There weren't two of them, there was only one and he was chasing her. Ginny was running after him, but she had no hope of keeping up with him.

Harry reached the trees and weaved his way through them, following Susan's footsteps in the snow. He saw the place where a second, deeper set of prints crossed hers, and the spot where she'd seen her pursuer and ran off to Harry's right, deeper into the trees. As he turned to follow them, he heard a wailing scream inside his mind, and its louder echo only a fraction of a second later, coming from somewhere in front of him. Susan had fallen, and whoever Harry was seeing was standing over her.

He ran as quickly as he could, darting between trees and straining to see some sign of Susan. He didn't know if it was a vision or his own imagination, but he saw Susan lying in the snow, gasping and clutching her leg. The trees flashed red, and Harry slowed long enough to see red sparks hanging in the sky not far off to his left. There was another set to his right.

Harry heard Susan screaming again, this time he couldn't tell which he heard first, the scream in his mind or the one in his ears. He had to be close. There was a third scream, this one much quieter, as if she were being choked. Harry charged onward, ignoring the branches whipping against his face, until he came into a wide clearing. At the far end of it was a small dark heap.

Harry rushed over to where Susan lay gasping for breath. She was lying on her back, one hand on her stomach and the other reaching for her wand which lay in the snow some distance beyond her reach. The jeans she was wearing were torn badly, and Harry felt his stomach lurch as he saw the deep red pool of blood forming under her knees.

"Harry..." she said between breaths, "I can't— I can't get up... If he comes back... "

Harry felt his body tense, and he pulled his wand from his pocket. Someone, hidden in the trees off to his right, was slowly stalking toward him. Harry saw the fear in Susan's eyes as she looked in the direction of the crunching snow. Their eyes met for a second, and Harry tried to let her know that he was going to protect her. She gave a slight nod, and closed her eyes.

_Please let her open her eyes again,_ Harry said to himself as he waited for the attack to come. The footsteps stopped, and Harry readied himself.

"_Stupefy!_"

Harry reacted almost instantly, putting up a shield protecting him and Susan. He felt the spell deflect off his back, and dove away from her. He hit the snow softly, and twisted as quickly as a snake to find his attacker. Harry found him immediately: a dark shape huddled behind a large tree."

"_Reducto!_" he shouted, and a large section of the trunk disappeared in a cloud of dust and splinters. The tree cracked, shuddered and slowly tumbled away from Harry, making the figure run out into the clearing. Harry took aim again.

"_Stupefy!_" The Death Eater crumpled onto the ground immediately. Harry turned to go back to Susan, but another voice rang out.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

Harry instinctively dropped to the ground as the spell zipped past him. He turned and sprung toward the next attacker.

"Harry, STOP!" someone shouted. Harry recognized the voice, and paused long enough to realize that he was surrounded by Aurors, including Magnus Montnor, who was walking toward him. "What's going on here?"

Harry looked around the clearing. There were now six Aurors standing in a rough semi-circle around him. He searched the trees for any sign of another Death Eater, and finding none, turned to look at Susan. Her eyes were closed, but her chest was still rising and falling in the same irregular gasping breaths she'd been taking before.

Harry pointed to the Death Eater. "He attacked her," he announced as he walked back toward Susan.

"STOP!" one of the Aurors ordered. Harry turned and glared at him. "Stay where you are. I can assure you he did not attack her."

"I _saw_ it!" Harry shouted. He turned and continued walking toward Susan, causing many of the Aurors to yell at him again. "She's _hurt_!" he shouted at them and kept walking.

"Stop where you are, or I'll stun you," the Auror threatened. "I don't care who you are, you'll not move another—"

"Put your wand down, Pierce."

Harry turned to see Kingsley Shacklebolt stepping out of the trees closest to Susan. He stopped for a moment to look at Susan.

"She needs bandages!" he called out. "And someone find me one of those sleighs!"

"He was the only one here when Alfred got here, sir," the Auror Shacklebolt had called Pierce said. "Potter attacked him, and then turned on me."

"Well Dalton deserved as much," Kingsley replied as he gingerly moved Susan's legs. "They both should have checked their opponents, but at least Harry won. I don't suppose Dalton expected him to destroy that tree." Kingsley laughed to himself as he waved his wand back and forth, causing a long bandage to appear and wrap itself around Susan's leg.

"I'm not joking," Pierce growled, "She screamed three times, and after the third I saw him leaning over her. If he didn't do it, he was helping them."

"That's enough!" Kingsley yelled. He jumped up and strode over to where Pierce stood, and grabbed him by his robes and pulled him into the trees. Harry tried to ignore them. He looked down at Susan. She opened her eyes to look back at him.

"It hurts..." she whispered, "...he... my legs. They're broken... I could feel it..." Her breathing had become a little more regular. The pool of blood gathering under her legs seemed to have stopped growing, and was forming crimson pits in the snow. She was looking very pale.

"Harry, he... used some curse... on my leg."

Her eyes fluttered and closed. Harry knew what the expect. He looked down her leg and found the bottom of her jeans ripped to her knee. There was a single dark line of burnt skin, running the length of her calf, and in the unmistakable pattern of a lightning bolt.

Harry covered it up instinctively and stumbled back. She'd been marked. She was just like the others. But how? He'd just left her. She couldn't have been attacked more than a minute after he left. Someone had been watching and waiting.

Kingsley Shacklebolt returned to the clearing with one of the sleighs. He quickly picked up Susan, and lifted her into the sleigh with him. The sleigh turned and sped off through the trees, which jumped aside to create a path.

Harry looked at the Aurors, and they all stared back at him. The patch of blood in the snow was much larger that it had looked before. He was feeling ill again. Why was she attacked? She hadn't done anything to upset him like the rest of the victims. And no one knew that she'd agreed to go to the ball with him.

It didn't matter at the moment. Harry admitted to himself that she'd looked really bad when Shacklebolt had taken her. He didn't want to be in the clearing any more. He needed to make sure she was okay. As he followed the path the sleigh had taken, he found Ginny standing a short distance into the trees where he guessed she'd watched everything that happened.

"Was she marked?" Ginny asked quietly.

"On her leg," Harry answered as she turned and walked next to him. "She'd just agreed to go to the ball with me, and they broke both of her legs."

They didn't say anything more to each other on the way back to the castle. Harry noticed there were no students enjoying themselves outside the castle, anymore. In their place were roving pairs of Aurors who eyed them warily.

Ron and Hermione were waiting for them at the door. Instead of bombarding him with questions, they both silently followed him. He headed directly for the Hospital Wing. As they got close to the door, Harry heard the voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt echoing down the hallway.

"...don't care if they try to burn the castle down out of boredom, Albus! We had patrols everywhere, and they still got through... Hogsmeade? Are you mad? You saw what happened last time— No, it's not that..."

They turned the last corner and saw the open door leading to the room where the patients normally stayed. The voices became much clearer, and Harry stopped and simply listened.

"No, I don't think that's even possible. There aren't enough Aurors to watch the grounds, the castle and every one of them. But there is something we've considered."

"By all means, please share it with us," Harry heard Dumbledore say.

"Well, we don't really have to watch all of them, do we? Everything follows Harry. We don't need to keep them all in the castle, just Harry."

"If you would remember, Harry _was_ inside the castle when Mr. Crabbe was attacked."

"But the situation could have been avoided if he'd never left. We can keep the castle safe for him. But all of the grounds..."

"So, you'd have us turn Hogwarts into a prison for Harry?" Dumbledore replied. "Why Hogwarts, then? Hasn't the Ministry finished staffing Azkaban? Why not lock him there?"

"I'm not joking, Albus. The grounds aren't safe. Can't you do something?"

"I won't do Voldemort's work for him," Dumbledore responded. "And that shall have to be the end of it, for the time being. Harry's heard quite enough."

Kingsley Shacklebolt turned to look at the door and Harry just beyond it. He swore and walked away. Dumbledore walked toward Harry, closing the doors to the ward behind him.

"She will recover," Dumbledore said seriously, "though it will be some time before will be able to use her legs. She will be transferred to St. Mungo's sometime tomorrow morning." He paused and looked intently at Harry. "You saw her leg, did you not?"

Harry nodded. Dumbledore said nothing else, and simply walked away, leaving Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny to wonder what they weren't being told. They slowly made their way back to a somber Gryffindor common room. A few of them who knew Harry better than the rest tried to ask some questions, but Harry didn't feel like explaining. He went to his dormitory instead, and studied the next week's Potions chapter.

He left only briefly to eat dinner. He didn't say much to anyone else, and few people even tried to talk to him. Students from the other houses generally kept their distance, with only two exceptions: a Ravenclaw fourth year who had been convinced to join the D.A. and wanted to know who to ask, and a Hufflepuff girl who claimed someone had told her to ask if Harry had a date to the ball.

He thought about how to answer, and decided that his previous plan would work best. "No, I don't," he told her, "but I'm not really looking for one either. Sorry." The girl had seemed a little surprised by his answer, but she'd walked away without any more questions.

After dinner, he'd retreated back to his room. He couldn't get Kingsley Shacklebolt's words out of his head. They were all too similar to thoughts he'd already entertained. The rest of the students would be safer if he'd just lock himself up in the castle. And yet, he couldn't help feeling selfish and wishing that he would be able to do all the things that the rest of the students could. Loads of other students got dates to the ball without breaking their date's legs.

Harry went to sleep very early, mostly out of a desire to simply end the day and escape his memories. It didn't really work. His dreams were laced with the image of Susan lying on a growing pool of blood and calling out for him to help her. Despite the nightmares, he slept late, not wanting to face the rest of the school.

When it got closer to noon, he forced himself to wash up and go to lunch. Most of the students had already left, including Ron, Hermione and Ginny. He found them sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. When Hermione saw him approaching, her eyes widened and she put down her drink and motioned for him to hurry up.

"Why were you talking with Susan?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I... er... I was—"

"Tell her the truth, Harry," Ginny interrupted, making everyone turn from Harry to stare at her.

Harry frowned. "I was asking her to be my date for the ball."

"And she turned you down?" Hermione prompted.

"No," Harry said with a bewildered expression, "No, she said yes. I asked her to keep it a secret."

"Well then, there is a little bit of a problem," Ron explained. "See, a bunch of girls in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff saw the two of you walking off, and figured that you were going to ask her to the ball. So they asked her last night when Pomfrey let her have visitors, and she said that she was already going with someone else, but wouldn't tell them who it was."

Harry gave Ron a funny look, then turned to Hermione and Ginny who was trying to listen to Ron and Neville, who was speaking about something else entirely.

"Don't you see, Harry?" Hermione told him, "It looks like you asked her to the ball and when she told you about her other date, you made sure she didn't go to the dance with anyone."

"But... the Aurors, they were there. They know that it wasn't me," Harry argued.

"Well, I don't think very many students spend much time talking to Aurors, do they?" Hermione replied. "I'm just telling you. A lot of them think you did this. There was a D.A. council meeting last night because a number of students wrote home to tell their parents that you should be expelled."

Harry lost every bit of his appetite. That had been the purpose of the attack. It was no different than the summer attacks. So long as Harry was here, Voldemort couldn't get to him. If he were expelled, there would be little anyone could do to protect him.

As he walked back to his dormitory, he tried to convince himself that it would blow over in a few days, but he knew that it would take quite a bit longer for people to forget that he was the one who might have attacked a girl for not going to the ball with him. He sat on his bed, and forced every last thought from his mind. After students started returning from the Great Hall, he fetched his Potions text and read over the next chapter yet again.

He didn't leave his room for the rest of the day. Let the rumors spread and grow. He couldn't hide forever, but he could hide for today, and that seemed like a good idea to him. That night, Ginny sent food up to Harry with Colin and Denis. They said nothing. They merely dropped the food off, and walked casually out of the room.

As weekends went, his had been amazingly wretched.

* * *

Harry slept in the next day, well past breakfast. The nightmares had come last night, and he'd slept horribly. He'd known what to expect. It had only been a matter of time before it was Ginny lying on the ground, bleeding, and trying to tell him that she didn't blame him. He'd woken up for an hour following that, but after spending some time trying to push all his thoughts and memories from his mind, he was able to get back to the restless sleep he'd become accustomed to. 

The only good news was that it was a Sunday. There were no classes, and he had no essays to write or potions to prepare for. There was just a school of people who thought he'd attacked a girl for turning him down.

The very thought made him feel ill. Voldemort was trying to get everyone to turn against him. It was obvious now. More troubling than that thought was the fact that Harry was certain it wouldn't work. There would always be some students (and professors) who would believe him capable of such things, but they would never outnumber the number of people who had learned to trust him, or at least believe him. Would Voldemort keep trying? Would people keep getting hurt for no reason?

He wanted to curl up and sleep until the next morning, but just as he thought he might be drifting back to sleep, the door to the dormitory opened and then closed roughly. Harry knew what would be coming. He could already hear the sharp taps of shoes approaching his bed. Closing his eyes to the inevitable, he waited for the sounds of his curtains being pulled open.

The rustle of his curtains was followed by a flash of sunlight. Harry squinted into the light at the small silhouette standing by his bed.

"Does it ever bother you that this is a _boys_ dormitory?"

"No," Hermione replied defiantly. "Is there some reason why you think it's alright to hide in your room?"

"Yes," Harry replied just as defiantly.

"Well, I think you're being stupid."

"What do Ron and Ginny think?"

"Ron wouldn't care if you slept through the next week, and Ginny would gladly bring you food every day if you'd smile at her."

"Maybe you should listen to them more often," Harry replied sourly.

"Maybe you should learn to realize when you're being selfish," Hermione shouted back as she tugged on the bedclothes.

Harry tugged back, knowing he wouldn't be falling back to sleep, but not wanting to get out of bed just yet. "What's your problem, Hermione? Are you and Ron fighting again?" As soon as he said it, he knew that he shouldn't have. His eyes opened fully, just in time to see Hermione's wand.

An instant later, the bedclothes were gone, and Hermione had grabbed Harry by the ankle. With a surprising tug, she pulled Harry out of bed, letting him drop to the stone floor with a thud.

"Bloody hell!" Harry shouted as he rubbed his hip. "What is going on? Why do you care if I spend the day in bed?"

"There's a council meeting immediately after lunch," she answered coldly. She was glaring at him now, with her arms folded across her chest, her wand poking out beneath her left arm.

"Well that's great for you," Harry remarked as he reached for his wand, "but if you'd read the charter like you read everything else in this castle, you'd realize that _I'm not on the Council_. I only showed up at the other meetings because I chose to."

"Rule Thirty-Three states that the Council can order a meeting and require the presence of the Leader," Hermione recited. She added with a smile, "Failure to appear before the Council is grounds for removal."

Harry stared back rebelliously. "Fine. Remove me. Ron can be the new leader."

Hermione eyes narrowed and her lips pressed into a tight smile. "Alright. I'll just let Ginny know, then."

"Fine!" Harry shouted. "I'll go."

"Excellent," Hermione said with a sickly sweet voice. "I'll see you there, then. I'm so glad you want to join us." She toward the door and stopped when she saw Ron standing there. "_That,_" she said pointing back at Harry, "is how you are supposed to wake Harry up."

Ron closed the door after she left and walked over to where Harry was picking himself up and dusting off his pajamas.

"I don't suppose you can explain any of that to me," Harry asked.

"Sorry, mate," Ron answered. "She was talking with Ginny and Cho during breakfast. They said it was Council business. I didn't think she was going to do all that."

"When did they schedule a Council meeting?"

"No idea," Ron replied immediately. "They don't really bother me with that stuff."

Harry groaned as he searched for clothes. "How much time do I have before lunch?"

"Not as much as Hermione will need to cool off," Ron answered flatly. "I find it works best if you just keep quiet. At least you won't say anything that will get her even more hacked off at you."

* * *

Harry took Ron's advice, and it seemed to work. He sat as far from Hermione as he could, while still sitting in the same group of students. He tried to say as little as possible and didn't say anything to Hermione, even when she asked him if he wanted more water. 

Ron left early, claiming that there was something he had to do. Harry guessed there was a better chance that he simply wanted to keep away from Hermione until she'd calmed down a bit more. For once, she didn't seem to be argumentative toward Ron, but he wasn't taking any chances and Harry didn't mind him leaving and saving him from the possibility of making Hermione more upset.

When they were all finished with lunch, Ginny and Hermione walked to the Room of Requirement with Harry trudging along behind them. Daphne Greengrass was already there, sitting against the door and waiting for them.

"Morning, Potter," she greeted him without looking up. "I hear it took both Ron and Hermione to get you out of bed this morning. Are you just a heavy sleeper or were you hoping for someone else?" Harry glared at her but didn't answer. "Maybe Hermione should be more careful, or she'll be the next one who can't walk."

"I didn't do it," Harry growled.

"'Course you didn't," Daphne said with a smile. "Why would you attack her even if she did turn you down? She wasn't the one you really wanted to go to the ball with."

Harry glanced over at Ginny and she gave him a scolding look. Harry looked away as quickly as he could, but Daphne was already smiling. She didn't say anything more and seemed completely occupied by something she was holding in her hand.

Cho and Luna showed up next, followed by Ernie and Hannah. They waited a few more minutes until Blaise showed up, and slowly walked into the room. They each grabbed a chair and sat in a rough circle in the center of the room. Harry didn't feel much like joining in and instead took a seat against the wall and ignored the annoyed looks he got from Ginny and Hermione.

When no one else started talking, Harry started for them. "Right then. So what did the lot of you want to punish me for? Sleeping in?"

"We're not here to punish you, Harry," Hermione said.

"Right. What was I thinking? Just because Hermione threatened to have me removed as the Leader doesn't mean you were upset with me."

"She what?" Cho asked.

"It got him here, didn't it?" Hermione said defensively.

"Maybe we should send Ginny next time," Ernie suggested.

Daphne's mouth twitched. "Yes, I doubt Harry would mind." Ginny shot her a glance that Harry could only describe as both pleading and violently threatening. Daphne took the hint, and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Someone needed to wake him up," Hannah finally spoke up. "Zacharias Smith was asking where he'd gone and wondering if that meant something horrible was about to happen. He was just talking, but a lot of the younger students were almost panicking."

"Well maybe someone should have told Zacharias to shut up and let Harry sleep."

Everyone in the room turned to find the source of the comment, and found Ron standing in the doorway.

"This is a Council meeting, Ron," Ernie said stiffly. "You're not on the Council."

"Neither is Harry, but Rule Thirty-Three states that he can be forced to attend for a vote of removal. However, Rule Thirty-Three also states that if he is, he can bring a member to act as an observer and report to the supervising professors."

"Yes, well Harry wasn't forced to come, was he?"

"Actually I was," Harry interjected with a smile. Ron nodded to Harry. "See. I was there. Hermione used Rule Thirty-Three to make him show up, and I'm here as the observer." Harry flashed him a bright smile, and summoned a chair over next to him for Ron to sit in.

"Is that why you left lunch so early?" Luna asked Ron.

"Hermione isn't the only one who knows how to use a library. I think now would be a good time for everyone to list their reasons for wanting Harry removed. Why don't you start, Hermione?"

With a scowl, she turned to Ron and spoke very slowly. "He hasn't been eating enough proper meals." Daphne and Blaise goggled at each other.

"Is that all it takes to be removed?" Blaise asked. "I mean, I stay up pretty late. Am I going to be removed for bad sleep habits?"

Hermione just stared at the ceiling and sighed. "That's my reason. What's yours Ginny?"

"_My_ reason?" Ginny asked. "I never said I wanted him removed."

Hermione slumped forward in her chair, resting her forehead on one arm. "Well, then he gets to leave," she said with a frustrated wave of her other arm.

"But we need to talk to him," Cho complained. "I never wanted him removed, I just wanted to make sure he was doing alright."

"Yeah, well we can't force him to talk with us." Hermione growled. "And no one else had any better ideas, did they?" Her head was resting in both of her hands now, and she was shaking her head at the floor. "Fine. Tell him to leave. We'll just wait around next time until either the Magnificent Harry Potter decides to talk to us or someone lets us know that we won't be seeing him again."

"I don't want him to go," Cho argued. "I thought you were going to convince him to show up, not threaten him. Merlin's Beard, Hermione! I just wanted to make sure he wasn't blaming himself. Can we just ignore all of this and get on with the meeting?"

"So I can go?" Harry asked.

Cho groaned and and buried her face in her hands much like Hermione had. "Stay, Harry. Please?"

"Alright, but Ron stays."

Ernie spoke up again. "No one's accusing you of anything, Harry, and he's not on the Council," As if they had planned it, Ron and Harry both stood up.

"Sit down, both of you," Ginny ordered. "Cho, Hermione. Can we just get on with this?" Harry watched Cho and Hermione exchanged frustrated looks. It hadn't taken long for the Council members to adopt roles, and though there was no official parchment declaring it, Hermione and Cho were the leaders of the Council. They both nodded, and the rest of the Council nodded their agreement as well.

Just as Cho and Hermione led the Council, Ernie was in charge of seeing that everything got done. Luna came up with solutions to any problem they might have. Daphne and Blaise seemed to know more about what happened around the castle than anyone else, and it was becoming more and more apparent that Ginny had some special ability to get Harry to do whatever was needed.

"Harry, tell them," she said.

"Wait, you mean that you already know?" Ernie interjected. "How did you—"

He was cut of by a number of tired, annoyed and impatient glares. The silent pleading in Ginny's eyes was enough to convince Harry to stay, but he tried to hide it. With a frustrated sigh he started slowly explaining what had happened the day before. For once he told them everything he could remember. Even Ron and Hermione seemed surprised by how much he told everyone.

In a way, it felt good to tell them about everything. It was a relief. He was no longer the only one who had to live with the image of Susan lying crippled and bleeding in the snow. There really wasn't any reason why sharing that particular horror with nine other people should make him feel better, but somehow it did.

The Council stayed silent through all of his explanation, either because of the seriousness of the situation, or simple fear that they'd upset him enough to make him walk out. Only once he got to his explanation of why he'd slept in that morning did they start talking.

In contrast to the earlier arguing, everyone was now acting like a team, and for the first time, Harry realized that it was a team without him. They weren't worrying about the things he worried about. They were handling all sorts of things he either hadn't thought of, or didn't have the time to consider doing.

Was that supposed to be the purpose of the D.A.? Were they supposed to make things easier on Harry? Sometimes it had seemed that it was more trouble than it was worth, considering the little success they'd had. Yet, Harry watched in silence as they created a number of plans for convincing people that Harry hadn't been responsible for what happened to Susan.

He had very little input, and eventually, he and Ron began quietly discussing the Council itself and wondering how much had been going on behind their backs.

Eventually they called an end to the meeting though they hadn't really finished talking. Harry resolved to try and remember to pay more attention to Hermione and Ginny and how often they talked privately to the other Council members. When they returned to the common room it was much later than he realized, and many of the students were watching the four of them suspiciously, obviously knowing they'd disappeared for a few hours without any explanation and had guessed at the explanation.

Harry found that he didn't really care. The entire weekend had been draining, both physically and emotionally. When it came time for dinner, he joined everyone else, and returned along with everyone else. He even stayed in the common room and forced himself to play a pair of games of chess (resulting in two dismal losses for Harry). He was very tired, yet he didn't want to slip off to bed early for yet another night.

When he did finally make it to his bed, he was exhausted. He knew falling asleep would be easy, but he didn't know how much rest he would get. He could tell the nightmares were still there, in the back of his mind, waiting to come forward as soon as he drifted off. Still, it was something that couldn't be avoided, and if he was lucky, they would simply be the old nightmares about the Department of Mysteries, or even the Graveyard.

As he felt the world fading away around him, he tried to force himself to not think of Ginny. He didn't know how many more times he could bare to see her comforting face, and hear her voice forgiving him for letting her die like the others.

* * *

Author's Note: 

A bit of side information: This chapter originally included an account of the student's return to Gryffindor Tower with a rather boring section about Harry and Ginny spending time together. It might have made the Harry/Ginny fans happy, but it might have also upset them, because...well, it was boring. The other implication, was that the chapter became much shorter and got lumped in with the trailing chapter (which was un-named at the time). The original name of this chapter was: "Broken Bones".

I guess it's up to you guys to say whether that was too cheesy or not.

Finally, for those of you hoping for more Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione interaction, be sure to hit that next chapter link.


	29. Date Deception

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 29 - Date Deception**

* * *

As the days passed, the nightmares faded and mixed with all the other horrors Harry had seen and they became almost bearable. As the Council had hoped, the students never really seemed to actually believe that Harry had attacked Susan. However, they never believed that it was simply bad luck either. At least, not Susan's bad luck. 

More than before, the students as a whole started avoiding Harry. They weren't afraid of Harry so much as they were wary of the aura of bad luck that seemed to follow him Instead of taking any chances, most of them decided that it would be best if they simply kept their distance. In that respect, the Council had failed miserably.

Harry tried not to let it bother him. He even tried to find the positive side of it. It meant that he had to deal with less people bothering him for minor help on all sorts of homework they had. If Hermione weren't near him, they'd still bother her, but the risk of being near him outweighed the desire to get slightly higher marks on their essays.

It was only two weeks before the I.C.W. was supposed to show up, and therefore just more than four weeks before the Ball. Other students were starting to make arrangements for dates, and many who'd already picked dates were busy ribbing those who had not. Harry was exempt from this, of course, though he had to deal with something much worse.

It seemed that the closer it got to the arrival of the I.C.W., the more irritable Ron and Hermione got around each other. It had gotten so bad that Harry would go out of his way to avoid them if they were near each other. Even the other students were beginning to avoid the two of them together as much as they avoided Harry.

Harry was sitting by the fire that night, quietly reading for the next day's Transfiguration lesson, when the portrait hole swung open quickly. Ron strode into the common room and took a seat in a chair by the table he often used for chess. Hermione walked in next and quickly walked across the room and took a seat at one of the windows. Finally, Ginny walked in the room with a disgusted look on her face. She looked around the common room, which was mostly deserted. Being satisfied, she went and sat by Harry.

"I know it's none of my business, but I swear those two are really tempting me," she whispered as she pretended to do her Transfiguration homework.

Harry looked up and gave her a smile. "What are you talking about? What isn't any of your business?" he asked innocently. Ron heard Harry talking, and looked over at the two of them. Harry returned to his book and whispered back, "I think everyone is hoping those two go to the Ball together. It would either stop the bickering, or at least save anyone else from having to be their dates."

"Oh, I'm not talking about the Ball," Ginny said bitterly. "I'd hex the two of them until they were unrecognizable if I didn't think it only fair to let you have the first go. How can you stand being around them so much?"

Harry burst out laughing. He hadn't laughed in a while and it felt good. It also attracted the looks of both Hermione and Ron. Ron looked away immediately. Hermione threw a warning look at Harry and Ginny and went back to her book.

"It's not always this bad," he said quietly, still laughing. "It's got to be the ball. They're both so stubborn."

"I don't know why." Ginny said with some agitation. "At least they have dates—or they would, if they would just get over themselves."

"You still don't have a date?" Harry asked lightly.

"No," Ginny replied slowly, "you seem to be scaring any potential dates off."

"Well, under normal circumstances, I'd be expected to do that." he whispered. "But how exactly am I doing it?"

"You're always around me, being protective— being yourself." she said with feigned annoyance.

"Yes, well, at least all the boys who don't ask you out can still walk." Harry said. His face was serious again.

Ginny frowned at him. "And they don't ask me because they're worried they might not be able to walk if they did..." She paused and looked away before continuing, "...and maybe they're right."

Harry tried to get her to look at him. "Why can't I go with you?"

"It's not because I'm afraid, Harry," she turned and whispered back to him. "This is no time to make it public."

"Some of the Gryffindors must have figured it out, and—"

"_Some_ of them _suspect_." Ginny corrected him. "Only Hermione really knows. She hasn't even told Ron—"

"—Well, there's one row I'd like to avoid—" Harry interjected.

"—and most of the rest know you're hiding someone, but they think it's— Oh you'll hate this..." Ginny paused and gave Harry a piteous look. "They think it's Claire Goldwater."

Harry laughed again but kept it quieter. "Maybe I should take her, then?"

Judging by her expression, Ginny didn't approve of the joke, but Harry still noticed a smile in her eyes. "I don't know if McGonagall would allow that, Harry."

Harry was quiet again. "So how am I supposed to find a date?" he asked seriously. "Look what happened to Susan. What if I ask someone else and they really do say no?"

"Well, Susan was attacked to make it look like you were angry with her, but that could only work if no one knew she said yes. If you ask a girl with a lot of people watching, everyone will know that she said yes, and there's no reason for her to be attacked."

"What if she says no?"

"Just don't pick someone who'll turn you down." she replied simply. "There are loads of girls who'd love to be asked by you. Pick a Gryffindor, or someone from the D.A. Someone who trusts you."

"Ah," Harry said with a smile, "what about both?"

"Even better," Ginny responded happily, then looked suspicious. "Wait. Who did you have in mind, Harry? I don't know who—"

"Just watch. This is either amazingly clever, or the most shockingly horrible plan I've ever had." Harry whispered as he stood up.

"If you aren't sure, it's probably that second one," Ginny warned.

He slowly walked across the room with heavy steps, trying to get as much attention as he could. Everyone took note of him, except for the girl in front of him. Her face was buried still buried in a book.

"Hermione," Harry called out loud enough for everyone to hear, "would you go to the ball with me?"

Ron shot out of his chair as if it scalded him. He stared with enraged bewilderment at Harry, then to Ginny who was covering her mouth and attempting to keep her eyes from leaping out of her head. The rest of the students in the room had instantly dropped what they were doing to watch. Some of them were inching toward the stairs, afraid of what might happen if Ron Weasley and Harry Potter started dueling in the common room.

Hermione was taken so completely by surprise that for once she didn't what to say. Instead her mouth moved mostly soundlessly. "Harry, I— er—"

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Harry asked kindly. "Has someone already asked you?"

There was a thud from the center of the room, followed by muffled laughs. Ginny had fallen off the couch.

"Yes!" Ron shouted much louder than necessary. "—I did." he said in a much more reasonable voice. "I asked her to the ball."

Suddenly Hermione's eyes lit up, as if she just remembered the right answer. "Yes!" she confirmed. "I mean— and I said yes!"

Harry had a smile on his face. "Oh well, I'm sure I'll find someone," he said with mock disappointment. He walked back to sit down on the couch which a smiling and red-faced Ginny was climbing back onto. As he passed Ron, he nodded to him. "Took you long enough, mate. We were hoping you'd ask her."

Ginny tried to catch her breath and Harry returned to his book. Ron and Hermione just stared at each other, looking shocked, a little confused, and rather embarrassed at the number of people watching them.

"Well, I think I'm going to turn in," Hermione announced. "Er— class tomorrow..." and trailed off as she quickly walked up the stairs.

"Hermione's right," Ron said. "We do have class. I think I'll go up as well." And with that he gathered his books and went to his dorm.

The rest of the students in the common room sat around quietly for a couple of moments. Then one by one they started whispering to each other. Most of them walked up the stairs to their dorms, eager to tell everyone else. Some however, were walking toward Harry and Ginny.

"Thanks, Harry," Seamus said as he dropped off a couple Chocolate Frogs.

A number of the younger students dropped off sweets as well, some just expressed their gratitude. Soon they were all gone, leaving Ginny and Harry alone.

"That was brilliant, Harry." Ginny said with a smile. "A bit of a gamble though. If she would have agreed, Ron would have strangled you in your sleep." Her eyes sparkled at him. "You still don't have a date, but if you have the courage to that, then you can find a girl to go to the ball with." She was still giggling. "Honestly, for a second I thought Ron was going to attack you with his chair. That was great."

"Thanks," Harry said, "but I still don't have a date."

"Just find someone," she said pushing him playfully. "It's just a Ball. It's not a marriage. Just find someone who won't annoy you all night long."

There was a sound from the stairs behind them and Harry turned to see what it was. When he heard nothing more he turned back to Ginny. "So if it's 'just a ball', why won't you go with me?"

"I've already told you why!" she said. Her voice was thick with frustration. "You're just going to have to accept it."

"Ron would think it's a good idea," Harry countered. "It's for your own safety, really."

"Nice try, Harry. Ron doesn't control my life." Ginny's voice had taken on a harsh tone, though her eyes were still smiling. "And I seriously doubt that you want to take me to the ball just to protect me, Harry Potter."

"Ginny Weasley," a voice called out from behind them, "would you do me the honor of attending the Ball with me?"

Neville was standing behind the couch and much closer to them than Harry would have guessed. His mind was racing, trying to think of what Neville might have heard. He needed to know. "Neville, I—"

"Yes, Neville," Ginny interrupted, "I think I'd enjoy that."

Neville smiled at Harry defiantly. Harry was even more confused now. He couldn't have heard much. He must not know about them.

"I think I'll turn in, now." Ginny said as she stood up. She turned to Neville. "Good night, Neville." Then she turned to Harry and gave him a playful, challenging look on her face. "Good night, Harry." She turned away from both of them walked to the stairs. When she got to the stairs, Neville turned and started walking to the portrait hole.

"Where are you off to, Neville?" Harry asked.

Neville looked back at him with a blank face. "Greenhouses. Extra work for Sprout. I've got written permission," he said as he opened the portrait hole, "—though it doesn't matter, since you're not a prefect in the first place."

Harry walked back up to his dorm. It had been an interesting and confusing night. He hoped he would sleep well.

* * *

The next morning Harry when Harry went down to the common room, he found Ron and Hermione sitting on the same couch that he and Ginny had been on the night before. 

"Morning, Harry," Ron said.

"Ready for breakfast?" Hermione added.

"I figured I'd wait for Ginny, if that's alright." Harry responded.

"We'll meet you—"

"We'll wait with you, Harry." Hermione interrupted. Ron gave her a funny look. "Have you found yourself a date, yet?" she asked in a sweet voice. "Or have you been spending your time finding dates for everyone else?"

"No, I don't have a date." he returned, a little put off by her comment.

"Why not?" Ron asked. "Ginny doesn't have a date. She's been having some troubles, I hear. I bet she'd go with you. I mean, you don't want to end up with some third year, do you?" Harry had been right, but the suggestion also confirmed the fact that Ron almost certainly didn't know everything about him and Ginny.

"Sorry, Ron," Harry said, "Ginny's going with Neville."

"Really?" he said, surprised. "Since when?"

"Last night," Harry said as he adjusted his robes.

"Bad luck," he said. "See what happens when you wait too long."

"Be careful, Ron." Ginny said as she walked up to the trio, "or you'll be the next one in the Hospital Wing."

"That's not funny, Ginny," Harry said.

"Lighten up, Harry, or I won't help you find a date."

"That's less of a threat than you think," Harry remarked as he hefted his bag onto his shoulder. "Without a date, there would be two less people who have to be embarrassed by my dancing."

Ron shook his head. "Mate, you really should have learned not to procrastinate from me. Let's go."

Under her breath, Harry heard Hermione say, "The problem is that he _has_ been learning from you."

They walked to the Great Hall and sat down together. Neville was nearby and he eyed Harry suspiciously while he told Lavender and Parvati about what happened in the common room. Everyone was laughing except Ron and Hermione, who were trying to act bored about it. Ginny was laughing and leaning on Harry for support. Neville scowled at him.

"What's up with Neville?" Harry asked quietly.

Hermione shook her head and whispered back, "He's jealous, Harry."

"Why?"

"Because you're sitting and laughing with his date," she said.

Harry felt himself tense. "So? She's my—Ow!" Harry shouted as Ginny elbowed him. He gave her an annoyed look. "—er—She's my friend, too."

Ron looked at Harry and Ginny, then at Hermione. "You're going to explain to me what just happened, right?"

"Er— Tonight," Ginny said dismissively. "—Maybe tonight...We should go."

The day's classes went by without much incident. The only thing out of place were the people who would smile or nod to him as he passed between classes. Some were more discrete than others. Each time seemed to make Hermione just a little more annoyed.

As they entered the Transfiguration classroom, a Ravenclaw whispered "Thanks, Harry." Hermione let out a huff and walked to the front of the room. Harry and Ron followed her. As they sat down, she turned on Harry. "This better not go on much longer."

"Attention everyone!" Professor McGonagall called out. "Attention!"

The class settled in and looked to the front of the class. "Today we are going to have a special lesson. This is important both for your N.E.W.T.s and an invaluable skill for your everyday lives."

"Today we will be practicing repairing and mending magical objects. You should all be fairly proficient at the repair of standard objects, but the repair of magical objects is a subtle art that takes many students quite a while to master. This skill will also be quite useful to you in the coming year, especially those of you more prone to accidents." She glanced toward Neville who simply looked at his parchment.

"First off, a demonstration." She brought out a solid wooden box and set it on the desk in front of Harry. "Recently this was broken while one of the staff was looking through through our stock of magical items. It is an alarm of sorts. It is a simple bell which has been charmed to ring when intruders are present."

She opened the box and the room was filled with a high pitched ringing noise. It was not shrill, but it was very difficult to ignore. She pulled two pieces of what looked like a normal silvery bell from the box. It had been cracked in half.

"Now, Mr. Potter, I want you to concentrate very hard on the bell, and visualize it repaired and functioning properly. It will take more concentration than simply repairing a broken chair."

Harry looked at the bell, and tried to ignore the ringing. He concentrated on the image of it whole and quiet. Then he took his wand and pointed it at the pieces.

"_Reparo!_!"

The two pieces leaped together and with metallic snap, the bell stopped ringing. Harry studied it closely, then smiled. The spell seemed to work.

"Excellent work, Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall said with a smile. "Ten points to Gryffindor. The staff will be quite pleased you got them together. It was starting to be quite an annoyance." McGonagall was holding the bell, but looking at Ron and Hermione.

"Oh, honestly," Hermione said, exasperated. Ron just blushed and sank down in his seat.

"You should keep this bell, Mr. Potter," the professor said. I believe Professor Flitwick plans to have you place it in Gryffindor Tower. Now, I have magical items for all of you. Lets start practicing."

* * *

Hermione was uncommonly quiet on the way back to Gryffindor Tower after Transfiguration. She hadn't said much during class, either. Harry was worried that she was angry with him, but she didn't seem to be behaving like she did when she was angry. 

Part of him wanted to know if she was upset, and another part told him that if she was, he wouldn't enjoy finding out. As they walked Harry tried to think of a way he could get her to talk, but not about class or the I.C.W. visit or anything that had happened that day.

"So, we're having the Council meeting tonight, aren't we?" he asked.

"Yes," Hermione answered tersely. Harry could tell by her voice that she was annoyed but not upset.

"Should Ron join us?"

"It'll probably be a boring meeting. The Aurors are going to handle everything," Hermione replied flatly, "and I don't see why he would really want to sit around for that. It's not like he's attached to either of us."

Harry winced. He was dangerously close to the very topic he was trying to avoid. "Alright. Are the Slytherins going to be able to make it?"

"You thought you were pretty clever, didn't you?" Hermione answered.

Harry didn't really know what to say, mostly due to his complete inability to see how the Slytherins' ability to sneak out had anything to do with him being clever.

"I... er... I guess?"

"You enjoyed your little match-making game last night, did you?"

Harry groaned. Why couldn't he have just shut up and waited for her to relax? His eyes darted over to Ron and saw the discomfort in his face. Ron dropped his head to stare at the floor as they walked. He wouldn't be getting much help from Ron.

"I was just trying to help..."

"Of course you were," Hermione laughed bitterly. "I saw you whispering to Ginny about it, Harry. And don't you find it a bit ironic that you put us together, when you still haven't even found yourself a date?"

"I didn't really do anything," Harry dodged. "Ron had already asked you."

Hermione stopped mid-stride and glared at Harry. "Honestly, Harry." She turned and jabbed her finger mercilessly into his chest. "If you believe that, then we're all doomed." Hermione turned and stalked off. Ron gave Harry a sympathetic shrug and they walked off after her.

"Look... I... I'm sorry—"

"No," Hermione replied sharply, "You're not. And I haven't figured out if I am either, but you could have picked someplace with less of an audience."

"I...I guess I hadn't put much thought into it. It just sort of came to me."

Hermione stopped in front of the Fat Lady and gave her the password. She held the portrait open as she turned to look at Harry.

"Ginny said she wanted to talk with us before the meeting tonight. I'll walk there with you. She said she'll meet us there." Hermione then turned and stepped into the Gryffindor common room, shutting the portrait firmly.

"I can't tell if she's angry with me or not," Harry commented as he and Ron stared at the portrait.

"She's not, really. You'd know if she was angry with you."

When Ron and Harry entered the common room, Hermione was nowhere to be seen. There wasn't all that much time until the evening meal, so they sat down to a game of chess in one of the quieter areas of the room. It was about an hour before Hermione came back down. She sat and calmly watched Harry slowly lose.

Harry didn't see Ginny until he got down to the Great Hall, where he found her sitting with Neville, Seamus, Colin and his brother. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat next to them, and started eating almost immediately.

When they had all finished eating (even Ron, who'd eaten most of the drumsticks in the vicinity), they sat back and relaxed a little. There was constant discussion of the upcoming visit by the I.C.W., and the Gryffindor table was no exception.

Students had already started leaving after finishing their meals, but Harry was surprised when Hermione stood up to leave. When Ron and Harry stood up to follow, she stopped them, saying that she just had some business to attend to. Harry and Ron took their seats again and watched as Hermione walked over to the Hufflepuff table and pulled Ernie and Hannah aside for some private conversation.

"I suppose I should go, too," Ginny announced as she stood up. She told them all that she had some errand she had to run before the meeting that night and that she'd see Harry soon. Once Hermione returned to the Gryffindor table, they all decided to leave.

Harry sat around, oddly impatient to find out what Ginny needed to talk to him and Hermione about. To pass the time he watched a group of first years playing Exploding Snap. Finally, Hermione walked over to him and nodded toward the door. Ron gave them a short wave of his hand to say goodbye and returned to whatever essay he was working on.

Hermione didn't say much on the way to the Room of Requirement. When they arrived they walked in and found someplace to sit. Hermione still hadn't said a thing and she had an expression similar to the one she'd worm as they walked back from Transfiguration earlier that day. Having learned his lesson, Harry kept quiet this time, and decided not to ask Hermione any questions.

He was forced to break his self-imposed ban some time later when Ginny still hadn't shown up.

"So...er... Where is Ginny?"

"I don't know," Hermione said with sincerity, "I don't think it's anything to worry about. She said she had something she had to do first. Maybe it's taking longer than she thought."

"Look..." Harry started, trying to gather his courage, "I really am sorry about how everyone is acting about... you know... you and Ron."

"Don't worry about it," she replied dismissively. "If you want to worry about something, it should be your date for the Ball. Perhaps you should try asking someone else."

Harry groaned. "And just how am I supposed to go about that? _Hello there, the last girl I asked can't walk anymore so would you go to the ball with me, instead?_"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Well, I'd hope you could come up with something a little more encouraging than that."

"Last week, I had to ask Padma to help me with one of the salamanders Hagrid had us feeding. She thought I was going to ask her to the Ball and she ran off. It took me the rest of the class to convince her that I just wanted her to hold my glove."

"So she didn't want to—"

"It's got nothing to do with whether she wanted to or not," Harry interrupted. "She didn't want to answer at all. Half the school heard that Susan said she wouldn't go with me, and the other half heard that she said she would, but now she can't walk and everyone's worried that the other half might be right."

Hermione tried to argue that there were still plenty of girls who didn't think they'd be attacked, and Harry explained how he didn't really care to go looking for them. The debate went on for a few minutes, with Hermione trying to convince Harry to simply try.

"What should I say, then?" he asked her. "Is it impolite to mention that they might be risking their ability to stand?"

"You'd probably want to leave that out, yeah," Hermione said in an exasperated voice. "Have you even _tried_ asking anyone else? And don't you dare count asking me!" Harry nodded, but said nothing. "Well, what did she say?"

"She...er... she didn't really say anything," Harry started, not wanting to tell Hermione anything more. Hermione obviously wasn't going to accept that answer so Harry continued. "She didn't really answer. She said I was being stupid and then told Neville she'd go with him."

Hermione smiled brightly for a moment, then regained control of her face and nodded. "I see. Well that doesn't really help us, does it?" She paced back and forth in front of Harry. "You didn't have any problem asking Ginny. So why don't we try something—" she glanced at the clock on the wall "—We have a little over five minutes before everyone else shows up. I'll help you practice."

Hermione waved her wand at the door, and it shimmered slightly. Then she stood with her back to the door, facing Harry. "Ask me to the ball," she told him.

"Er... Do you want to go to the ball?"

Hermione frowned. "You might try making it sound like you'd actually want to go with me."

"Well, I _don't_ want to go with you, do I?"

"That's why you have to _pretend_ that you do. You didn't have any problems asking Ginny, so pretend I'm her, and try again."

"No offense, but it's not that easy. It's still you. You're going to the Ball with my best mate."

"Right," Hermione said, nodding impatiently. "Let's start out a little easier." She convinced Harry to close his eyes and picture himself asking Ginny to the ball. After a couple tries and some encouragement from Hermione, it worked. Harry could see her in his head, looking up into his eyes smiling expectantly. It was the way he'd pictured it in the back of his mind the moment he'd read about the Ball. That was the way it should have gone. He would ask her, and she'd say yes. She'd look beautiful and they would spend the night talking and dancing and laughing.

"You've got it?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded silently. "Think of what you'd say to her, and then ask her —but don't use her name, you're just going to a Ball, it sounds too formal if you do."

Harry already knew what he would have said. It was supposed to be so much easier. It would have been easier. His mind ran through the words one last time. He took a deep breath and asked.

"I'd really like it if you'd go to the ball with me."

"I... Yes... Yes, I'll go with you," Harry heard in his head. Or was it.

Harry felt his heart attempt to jump out of his throat. That wasn't what Ginny was supposed to say. His eyes snapped open to a sight that made his heart stop altogether. Standing in front of him was Hannah Abbot, who, by herself, wasn't all that shocking. The frightening thing was the group of people standing behind her. It looked to be every last member of the D.A. Council, with the notable exception of Ginny.

Harry felt his face drain of all color. His head spun around searching for Hermione. He caught a shadow behind him, and twisted to look at it. Hermione was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, and the largest smile she'd had all day. She mockingly batted her eyelashes at him. Harry spun back around to look at Hannah.

"Look, Hannah, you don't have to—"

"No!" she exclaimed. "No, it sounds great! I didn't think it would be fair to go with anyone outside the D.A. You know, with all the watching we might have to do. But we can do it together! It'll be brilliant." She looked genuinely happy.

"But the thing is... I wasn't really—"

"What's going on?"

Harry leaned around Hannah to look at the doorway, which was still wide open to the corridor. In it, stood Ginny Weasley, looking cheerful and curious.

"Harry's found date to the ball," Daphne said with an odd smile.

"Took him long enough," Ginny replied as she closed the door. "Have I met her?"

"I'd say so," Ernie replied.

"Excellent. I'll need someone to talk to. I don't think Neville and I will be doing much dancing," she explained as she started setting up chairs around a table. "Who found out?"

"Me, I guess," Hannah answered with a laugh.

Ginny stopped and smiled at her. "Really? I figured he'd keep it a secret as long as possible. No offense, but how'd you find out?"

"Well, I walked in the door, and he asked me."

The smile fell off Ginny's face. "Oh," she said without emotion. She swallowed and looked at Harry. "I guess that's great... I mean... It'll make things easier... and... well, you two can have fun."

Everyone made similar, though less awkward comments as they made their way over to the table. Harry took a seat, hoping Ginny would sit next to him. Instead she took a seat a couple chairs away, and it was Hannah who sat next to him.

Ginny didn't look at him throughout the entire meeting. Harry wasn't really paying much attention, but he really didn't need to. Cho and Hermione seemed to be handling pretty much everything. After looking forward to the meeting for so long, now all he wanted was for it to end so he could get Ginny to talk to him, even if it would only be during the walk back to Gryffindor Tower.

Hermione was right. The meeting was boring, but it was also fairly short and without any disputes. After they finished they filed out of the room. Hannah smiled at him and wished him a good night. Harry tried to sound intelligent and polite as he wished her the same.

Harry, Hermione and Ginny walked silently back to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione said nothing at all, but had a faint smile on her face. Ginny seemed distracted, and a little sad. Harry didn't know what to say.

"Hermione tricked me into it," he finally said, though he knew that probably wasn't what Ginny wanted to hear.

"You should have expected her to do something like that," Ginny said. Despite Harry's worries, he didn't hear any anger in her voice. "And it was pretty clever, even if she had to use me as bait."

"Are you... are you okay with this?" Harry asked. A moment later, he wished he hadn't. If she wasn't then Harry didn't know what he could do to make the situation any better.

"I'm fine," Ginny said with a faint smile, "I really am. It's just... well... She didn't have to pick someone quite so pretty."

* * *

The next two weeks seemed to pass quickly. Perhaps it was because everyone was looking forward to the I.C.W. visit, and perhaps it was because it was the first period of time when Harry hadn't felt like there was something that needed to be finished or prevented or otherwise dealt with. 

He had a date to the Ball, though he was beginning to wonder if she was taking it a bit more seriously than he was. Draco and his band of Slytherins had mostly kept to themselves, only occasionally speaking up to insult or ridicule him. Ron and Hermione had indeed calmed down quite a bit since their arrangement to go to the Ball together. Ron had spent a couple nights sitting on the couch and reading with Hermione, and Hermione had even tried (and failed spectacularly) to play a game of wizard chess against Ron. Even Advanced Potions had fallen into a pattern. Snape didn't take the time to needle Harry, and Harry focused on making the potions.

As the day of the I.C.W.'s arrival approached Harry had to try harder and harder to ignore his worries. After so many attacks, he knew they wouldn't just stop. Were the Death Eaters waiting for the I.C.W. to show up? Harry tried not to think about it. If someone was attacked while the I.C.W. was at Hogwarts, Dumbledore wouldn't be able to keep it quiet. If it was bad enough, they might even close the school.

Harry felt better only three days before they were supposed to arrive when a large group of Aurors showed up to help guard Hogwarts. Over the next few days, small groups of wizards (who were obviously not Aurors) also arrived and started walking around the castle and grounds. Harry and the rest of the students often caught them lurking in the oddest of places. Others said they were creepy and wished they'd never came, but Harry realized that they were almost certainly the personal guards of the I.C.W. members and he found himself interested in just what it might take to do their jobs. Most importantly, if they really needed a N.E.W.T. in Advanced Potions.

The night before the I.C.W. wizards were supposed to arrive, the castle became noticeably more busy. Even more Aurors had shown up, most of them there just to ensure the safe arrival of the Confederation wizards. There were rumors that the first members had already arrived, but that they were waiting in Hogsmeade. Hogwarts itself had closed and locked the front gates that afternoon so the Aurors could thoroughly search the castle and grounds.

The next day was a Friday, and after lunch, Harry, Ron and Hermione left for Herbology. Professor Sprout had successfully convinced Dumbledore and the Aurors not to force her to cancel class. All other classes, including Care of Magical Creatures, had been banned from being outside the castle. Hagrid was able to hold class in one of the courtyards, but Sprout needed to at least use a greenhouse.

As they walked out to Greenhouse Three, they all noticed the number of Aurors prowling the grounds. They were watching the students as much as watching for anything dangerous. The lesson was mostly uneventful considering the amount of activity outside. Crabbe hadn't shown up by time the class started, and ten minutes later he was hauled into the greenhouse by no less than four Aurors. Sprout ignored the interruption and seemed pleased with the lesson when it was over.

As they walked back, it seemed there were even more Aurors around. After looking and finding nothing, Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way to the front door. At the door were a pack of Aurors and wizards in dark robes with deep hoods and odd gold trim. As the three of them approached the hooded wizards stiffened and stared at them.

"Oh relax, you lot," one of the Aurors called out. "They're just more students."

"And you recognize them?" one of the wizards asked with a thick accent Harry couldn't recognize.

"Blimey! That's Harry Potter," the Auror said. "Normally he's got three or four others with him, but that's him."

"Potter," the hooded wizard addressed him. "It would be best if you stepped inside."

Harry gave the wizard an odd look, but did as he suggested. The I.C.W. must be arriving, he thought. He stepped into the Entrance Hall and walked silently toward the staircase. There were at least ten Aurors in the Entrance Hall, and none of them looked like they'd let the three of them stick around to see what was happening. They followed the other students up the staircase and turned toward the Transfiguration classroom.

"_Psst!_"

Harry turned and saw Ginny poking her head around the corner behind them. She gestured for them to come over to her.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked reluctantly.

"Listening," Ginny said with mischievous grin. She held up a thin, translucent filament. At first it looked quite a bit like the thick spiderweb Harry remembered from the time he and Ron met Aragog. Ron seemed to agree and he backed away.

"Extendable Ears," Ginny said with an odd look at the two of them. "Made them behave a bit better and a bit harder to see using a trick I learned this summer. Quick, there are five of them and someone really important is coming."

Harry squinted and traced the filaments as the torch light glinted off them. He could see the small bundle turn the corner and head down the stairs. Ron was already slipping the end of one into his ear. Hermione was separating two of them. She took one for herself and handed the other to Harry. Harry took it and inserted one end into his ear. He sat down against the wall next to Ginny, and listened.

At first he couldn't hear much, but he slowly realized it was simply because not much was there to be heard. As he strained to pick anything out of the silence, he thought he heard muffled voices.

"They're talking outside," Ginny whispered. "The rest of them all came inside."

Suddenly there was a creak that Harry assumed to be the door opening, but there was still no talking. There was a number of footsteps as quite a few people walked into the Entrance Hall. Some of them sounded very close by, and as Harry heard echoes of them walking up the first few steps, Ron swore under his breath, and jerked the Extendable Ear from his own ear.

"At least there's an extra," he said as he reached for the only free Ear left. "I think someone stepped on that one." Harry's attention returned to the Extendable Ear as he started hearing voices.

"There's no one around," a voice said. It sounded like the same wizard who'd talked to Harry.

"Will you allow me to finish now?" a voice asked. Whoever had spoken was obviously not British, yet the accent was subtle and almost imperceptible.

"By all means."

The second voice was obviously Dumbledore. Harry glanced at his watch and tried to figure out how much time he could waste without being late for Transfiguration. It couldn't be much, but perhaps long enough to hear what the Confederation was here to discuss.

"You understand that we have considerable concerns with this course?"

"I do," Dumbledore answered, "and I will admit that I am not without concern, myself."

"And yet, you take these risks, without—"

"Every plan has risks, Najib. What other action would you suggest?"

"There are other things that could be done. Other things we might try."

Dumbledore sighed. "If there is a way of succeeding, it is this way."

"Do you still believe that, Albus?" the wizard asked in a curious tone. "There are many of us who think you have been fighting this battle for too long."

"—I believe I am one of them—"

"And yet your strategy has not changed. In fifteen years, nothing has been done to improve our situation, and now it is much worse. Alexandru is gone. You have lost your greatest ally, and many of your strongest supporters."

"And a new generation has taken their place," argued Dumbledore.

"And why should this generation have any more luck than the last? What hope do you have to offer beyond taking the same course we did sixteen years ago? What hope do we have that this course will bring any resolution in our lifetimes?"

"I cannot promise that hope," Dumbledore said in a low voice. "Yet this _must_ be done. It _must_ be the way, but it must happen in its own time, not ours."

"And perhaps ours will be a shorter time because of it."

"That is a price I would gladly pay."

"Yes. Perhaps I would as well, if I were assured of its success. Must this be the _only_ action we take? Can nothing else be done or tried?"

"There may indeed be other things to be done," Dumbledore agreed, "and I am eager to hear what they might be."

"As am I, but first I would greatly appreciate it if you would calm some of my fears. Certainly there is someone we might speak to."

"Indeed," said Dumbledore as their voices faded. "I will see what can be done."

"Who has not arrived? And what of Alexandru's apprentice? Has he—"

Their voices were cut of by the sound of closing doors. Slowly Harry pulled out the Extendable Ear and stared at the others. They all seemed to be in shock. Harry took another look at his watch and jumped to his feet.

"We've got to go," he announced. "We'll be late and I don't fancy being escorted to class by Aurors." Ron and Hermione grabbed their bags and started following him. Ginny, however, didn't move and simply relaxed against the wall as if she was waiting for someone.

"Don't you have class, Ginny?" Harry asked.

"Care of Magical Creatures," she called out. "One of Hagrid's Diricrawls escaped and led a load of Aurors on a chase around the castle. He decided to cancel all his classes after that."

Without any more time to talk, the three sixth years had to run to make it to the Transfiguration classroom. The were all panting as they reached the door, and were not at all prepared for Professor McGonagall to be standing there waiting for them.

Hermione came to an abrupt halt, making Harry nearly knock her over. Ron lost his footing and slammed into both of them, sending all three sprawling onto the floor. As they untangled themselves, Professor McGonagall watched with a stern face.

"Well at least you actually tried to make it to class," she said sternly. "As luck would have it, you just missed the announcement that today's class has been canceled. I'm afraid I've been called away on urgent business. You're to write a foot and a half on the four Hardening Charms, and try to make it to class _early_ next Tuesday."

The three of them nodded and walked off as soon as McGonagall had walked off down the hall. Most of the students were still gathering their things and stuffing them into their bags, but a few had seen them and were laughing and talking about it.

Instead of heading back to Gryffindor Tower, they walked off in the opposite direction. As soon as they were certain no one was around them, they began talking about what they'd heard.

"I've never heard _anyone_ talk to Dumbledore like that," Ron said, "Fudge and Rita Skeeter said some pretty bad things, but never to his face like that."

Of course, Ron hadn't heard Voldemort talking to Dumbledore, but it was still a good point. Most people talked to Dumbledore with a strange sort of reverence. Few people even addressed him by his first name, and yet this wizard had done so almost trivially.

"I don't think it was like that. It didn't sound like they were angry at each other," Hermione remarked.

"More like good friends arguing," Harry said. Ron and Hermione didn't say anything, but both nodded. "Didn't sound very promising, though. It sounded like the I.C.W. doesn't trust him anymore."

"He's the greatest wizard in the world," Ron replied. "If they don't trust him, then maybe we shouldn't be trusting them."

Hermione disagreed and for a moment, Harry was afraid it was going to turn into the first argument they'd had since agreeing to go to the Ball together. Instead, they simply shrugged it off and started trying to figure out who Alexandru might have been. Harry decided to ignore it and join the conversation.

"Do you suppose Voldemort killed this Alexandru bloke?" Ron asked as they walked down a flight of stairs to the floor where they'd overheard the conversation with the Extendable Ears. "Sounded like he wasn't the only one. He said that Dumbledore lost his ally and a load of supporters, but it seems the Order is larger than it ever was."

"I think he was talking about Sirius and my parents and the rest of the Order from the last war," Harry explained. "Moody showed me a photo last year. It was taken before I was born and had most of the Order in it. Quite a few of them are dead now."

"That's what I figured, too," agreed Hermione. "So whoever Dumbledore was talking to was worried that his plan wasn't going to work."

"Well it didn't sound like he had any better ideas," Ron answered.

"I don't think it matters. It sounded serious. They might overrule him."

"And do what?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, Harry. I don't know any more about them than you do."

"They don't have any real power —at least, not the way the Ministry does," Ron explained as they walked down the final Hall between them and the stairs to the Entrance Hall. "It's not as if the Ministry has to do what the I.C.W. tells them to, but it's generally pretty daft to ignore them."

"Most of the wizards who're members are like Dumbledore though. They're all pretty powerful, and people pretty much do whatever they say, but whenever it's gotten really bad, they all turn to Dumbledore. If they're not listening to him now. then I'd say things aren't looking very good for any of us."

"Dumbledore sounded pretty certain he was doing the right thing."

"Right, and I'd bet every Galleon I had that he's right, but it's not going to be easy to convince them that the best way of stopping the most evil wizard of the century is sending Aurors to pubs and Quidditch matches."

They walked past the stairs, noticing a pair of Aurors standing on the the floor below and talking with a pair of maroon cloaked wizards. They turned the corner and found Ginny still sitting against the wall. Frowning, she held up two of the Extendable Ears.

"I'm down to three. I have to tell George that they don't handle being stepped on well." She shrugged and pulled the third out of her ear. "Not that it matters. I think they're all here now. Two more showed up after you left. I've been listening to the Aurors talking with the other guards."

"Did Dumbledore come out again?" Harry asked her. "Did he say anything more?"

"No," Ginny answered, "but did you know that Moody lost most of his hair after making fun of some witch in a bar?"

* * *

Author's Notes: 

So there it is. This was about as much cheerful romance as you'll get from me. This is another semi-important chapter, not because of what is in it, but because it acts as another turning point. As I was writing, I decided there needed to be a somewhat cheerful chapter here, since it's going to start going downhill soon. So... buckle up, I guess. We're not at the big drop yet, but we can see the crest from here.


	30. Evening Entertainment

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 30 - Evening Entertainment**

* * *

So far as any of the students could tell, the Confederation wizards had vanished as quickly as they had appeared. The only reason to think they were still at Hogwarts was the overabundance of Aurors and the continued presence of an assortment of strange looking wizards patrolling the castle. 

No one seemed to know exactly why they were so reclusive. Various students swapped stories they'd heard of the last I.C.W. meeting and rumors about why this was so different. Some said that the members were probably just trying to stay safe considering the attacks at Hogwarts. Others said that they were trying to keep their identities hidden.

Harry immediately discounted both ideas. If either were true, they should have expected to see Dumbledore walking about. However, it seemed that no one had seen him all weekend, and McGonagall had only appeared briefly during Saturday's dinner to discuss something with Professor Flitwick.

Sunday night, Harry had pulled out the Marauder's Map to see what was going on, and where. He found the I.C.W. members in a large room at the end of one of the closed off wings of the third floor. He kept checking throughout the night, and saw a surprising number of people popping in and out of the room.

As he was showing Ron, Hermione and Ginny, Lupin had appeared suddenly only to leave a few minutes later. The four of them sat around the Map and pretended to be writing essays. As they watched, various other wizards showed up, always simply popping up on the map. Many of them were names Ron recognized from the Ministry, and some of them were completely new.

It seemed the real reason they hadn't seen any of the Confederation members was simply because they hadn't stopped discussing whatever it was they were busy talking about.

When Harry went to sleep that night, they were still in the room, but when he woke up and checked the next morning the room was vacant. No one really seemed to know what that might mean until they went down for breakfast.

The Great Hall was less noisy than it normally was, even for a Monday breakfast. Sitting at the head table was Dumbledore, flanked by a pair of bearded wizards Harry had never seen before.

"They've got to be from the I.C.W.," Ron commented as he watched them eat. "They're not nearly as stiff as all those guard wizards. Wonder if one of them was the one telling Dumbledore he was wrong."

"I'd guess not," Hermione said as she tried to hide her glances toward the head table. "Dumbledore's being pretty formal with them. I don't think they know each other terribly well."

It didn't really matter to Harry. He was unnerved by them, and couldn't tell if he was being overly paranoid or if they were looking at him more than any other student in the hall. He forced himself not to look back, but he could almost feel them watching him. What had Dumbledore told them about him?

It wasn't too surprising to see three Confederation wizards at the head table for lunch and the students gradually got used to seeing small groups of them traveling about the castle. At times they would all disappear, probably to meet in the same room on the third floor to continue their discussions.

On Tuesday, Harry walked into the Transfiguration classroom and saw a pair of them sitting in one of the front corners of the room. Everyone seemed to notice them except Professor McGonagall. No one gathered enough courage to ask her about them, and they never did anything more than simply watch and whisper comments to each other.

There were three more sitting in the back of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom that afternoon. Not until the end of class did Shacklebolt's eyes look to the three of them, but it was a relief that at least he knew that his professors knew they were there, too.

The next day was more of the same. Binns took absolutely no notice of his visitors, though that wasn't a terrible surprise. He rarely took notice of any of his students. It was comforting to see that like the students, even the pair of Confederation wizard had trouble staying awake during his lecture.

Potions was slightly different. Snape seemed uncomfortable and even slightly annoyed by the three wizards in his classroom. One of them seemed familiar, and Harry and Hermione tried to remember if he had been one of the wizards who'd attended Transfiguration. The other two were new, one ancient looking wizard, and a very stern-looking witch.

For once, Harry wasn't the reason for Snape's bad mood, and neither was he the target of his frustration. Without any outlet for his frustration, Snape was forced to sit and stew at his desk while the students worked on the potion he'd assigned.

He and Hermione laughed as they told the rest of the Gryffindors over dinner. They had to keep it mostly quiet, however, since all three of the wizards were sitting at the head table with Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

"It would have almost been worth taking Advanced Potions to have seen that," Ron said with a broad smile. "I don't know what they're doing, but if it's annoying Snape, it can't be all bad."

"They didn't do anything?" Katie asked as she took a break from laughing. "They didn't ask him questions, or write anything down?"

"No, they were just like the rest of them," Harry said as he helped himself to another chicken thigh. Katie put down her fork, and stared back at him.

"The rest of them?"

Harry didn't even pause before answering. "Yeah, the rest of the Confederation wizards. The ones sitting in on all the classes."

"They haven't been in all of the classes," Katie corrected.

"Well, I didn't see them in Herbology, but they don't leave the castle, so I didn't really expect that. They've been at all the rest, though."

"They haven't been at any of my classes," Katie said, sounding almost disappointed.

Ron frowned and looked down the table. "Well, let's find someone else. How about him? He's a second-year." Ron pointed at the boy who was talking with his friends. "Oi! You there, with the moppy hair!" he shouted at him.

Hermione slapped his shoulder. "His name is Philip, Ron."

"Right then. Get over here, Philip."

The small blonde boy stood up and slowly walked toward the group of them. He was obviously frightened and confused.

"You scared him out of his wits, Ron!" Hermione scolded. "Relax, Philip, Ron obviously wasn't using his brain again." The boy seemed to relax a little, but still shied away from Ron. "Have any of the I.C.W. wizards or witches been sitting in on any of your classes?"

The second year stared back at them suspiciously. "'Course they haven't. They're keepin' out of sight. Nobody sees them except for meals, and then they disappear again."

Hermione thanked him and turned back to Katie. She shrugged and shook her head. "I told you. They haven't been in all the classes. I hadn't heard of it until just now."

"I've seen them, too," Ginny said quietly, "but just one or two, and just in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Maybe they're watching the D.A. Council," Katie suggested. Ron and Hermione nodded, but it was obvious what was really going on.

"They're watching me," Harry announced. "And they're watching the rest of you because you're my friends. That's great," Harry said as he pushed his plate away. "Maybe they're trying to figure out if I'm the one who's behind all of the attacks."

With a frown, Hermione pushed Harry's plate back toward him. "Dumbledore would have told them you're not. Maybe they're trying to find out who is."

"Yeah, what was I thinking?" Harry replied sarcastically.

"Don't start that, Harry," Ginny said in a low voice.

"Don't start what?"

"You know what I'm talking about," she hissed at him.

"I don't," Ron interjected. "and how exactly do you?" Ginny opened her mouth to respond, but stopped herself.

Harry took the opportunity to continue. "Maybe they want to see what all the rumors are about. They don't trust Dumbledore. Maybe they're right."

"Shut up, Harry," Ginny growled earning an almost frightened look from Neville. "You _know_ that's not true—"

"Am I interrupting anything?" asked Professor McGonagall.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at their Head of House. "Yes," she mumbled.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to discuss it after you get back to your common room."

"Fine. Come on, Harry. I think Ron, Hermione and I need to speak with you."

"I'm afraid you'll have to come with me, Miss Weasley," Professor McGonagall announced.

"Why? Are you giving me detention for telling Harry how stupid he is?"

"Certainly not. I have neither the time nor the space to hold detention every time Mr. Potter does something foolish," McGonagall said with a frown. "You and Miss Granger have been invited to the Trophy Room. The rest of you can go."

Harry gladly took the opportunity to leave without facing one of Ginny's scoldings. As he walked out of the Great Hall, he saw Cho and Luna leaving. Hannah and Ernie weren't sitting at the Hufflepuff table. Ron and Neville were following him, but he didn't pause to wait for them.

There was mercifully little time for Ron and Neville to ask Harry what had just happened before Hermione and Ginny returned. The common room was still mostly empty, so they crowded around one of their favorite tables. Ginny was still upset, so Hermione did the talking.

"We met with one of the Confederation wizards. A witch about the same age as Madam Pince. She wanted to give us some information about the dueling demonstration on Friday."

"Why?" Harry asked her. It didn't really make much sense. Why should they tell the D.A. about the demonstration? There were loads of Aurors and other wizards around to make sure everything was safe. What were they worried about? "What do they want us to do?"

"They want us to duel."

"What, duel them?" Ron asked. "We'll have no chance against them."

"No, I think they want us to duel each other," Hermione explained. "The witch said that they wanted to let the D.A. know before the demonstration 'so we could prepare', they said. I think they didn't want us to panic when they announce it to everyone else."

"So the students are going to duel each other? Like our second year?" Ron remarked skeptically. "That doesn't sound like my idea of entertainment."

"It wasn't supposed to be entertainment for us," Ginny told them. "It's entertainment for the I.C.W."

Harry and Ron tried to get more details from the girls, but there wasn't any more to learn. The meeting had been brief and they hadn't been able to ask any questions. After having them repeat everything a third time, Harry gave up and accepted that they would just have to try and deal with it when they found out more. "We'll need to let everyone know as soon as possible, and I want all of us to meet outside the Fat Lady right before it starts. Can we do that, Hermione?"

"We have just under two days, so it shouldn't be a problem. We can probably do it by lunch tomorrow."

"What about Daphne and Blaise?"

"Cho and Blaise talk often enough that no one cares anymore. I'll let her know to tell everyone and she'll take care of it."

"I'll tell Hannah," Ginny offered even as she was walking away.

"No, Harry can tell Hannah."

"Well, then I'll go with him," Ginny replied as she stopped at the portrait hole.

"You can tell Luna. I'm sure Harry can handle Hannah all by himself."

Ginny was grumbling as she left the common room. Harry and Hermione left soon after her, leaving Ron to spread the news to all the Gryffindor D.A. members.

* * *

It was the night of the demonstration, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing silently by the Fat Lady. At the moment they looked quite conspicuous, simply standing in the middle of the hall without any sign of purpose. While the Aurors recognized them, many of the security wizards of the Confederation wizards didn't, and they gave them suspicious looks, often pulling out their wands, or ducking behind corners and columns to watch them. 

"Tell me why we're doing this again?" Ron asked.

Harry was pacing around Ron and Hermione. "Because I'm worried about something happening. There hasn't been an attack in a month. The I.C.W. is here. We're going to be throwing curses and hexes back and forth. Everyone will be distracted, and it'll be easy to miss someone who shouldn't be there, or someone who should be there, but isn't."

"You don't think you're getting a little paranoid, mate?" Ron asked skeptically. "I mean, the whole castle is crawling with Aurors and all sorts of other wizards just itching to find a Death Eater."

Hermione gave a small sigh. "It can't hurt, Ron."

"You'd think so," Ron grumbled while glaring at another cloaked wizard watching them warily as he slowly strode past them. "But if we stay here much longer I'll end up in the Hospital Wing before the demonstration even starts."

Harry stopped to stare at Ron. Hermione turned to make a similarly confused face at him. "Why will you be in the Hospital Wing."

Ron scowled at a wizard who had stopped some distance from them, and was currently pretending to clean his wand while he watched them.

"Because I'm going to be hit by a book-load of curses after I snap and hex the bloody hell out of the NEXT WIZARD WHO LOOKS AT ME LIKE I'M HIDING A DEATH EATER IN MY POCKET!" Ron shouted intentionally loud enough for every wizard in the area to hear.

The wizard in the hallway turned and walked away quickly, while the wizard on the stairs seemed to have tried to get away, but his foot had sunk through one of the stairs and he was now struggling to free himself.

"Incidentally, Ron," said Hermione, her voice low, "you actually _have_ hidden—"

"Not now, Hermione," interrupted Ron as he whirled on Hermione.

Just then, Colin Creevey poked his head out of the portrait hole. "Harry, did you hear that?"

Harry turned to look at Colin. He could see a decent group of Gryffindors behind him in the common room. "Do you mean all that shouting about Death Eaters?"

Colin shook his head emphatically.

"No," Harry replied in a dull voice. "Didn't hear it out here."

Colin looked confused and turned to talk to some of the other Gryffindors, but Ron interrupted him.

"Hey! You lot. Come out here," he ordered. "At least we'll make an invasion force impressive enough to make them pair up if they want to glare at us."

The Gryffindors quickly streamed out of the common room to stand around Harry. Harry noticed Neville had linked Ginny's arm in his. He tensed and Ginny gave him a warning look before he could react any more, but Neville noticed anyway. He frowned and pulled Ginny closer to him. making Ginny roll her eyes.

Harry looked away, trying to find something else to look at. He had pulled the Map out and was searching the castle quickly. He shoved it back in his pocket before anyone else noticed.

"Everyone else is on their way up," he said quietly. The voices of the rest of the D.A. could be heard echoing up the steps. Harry shook his head at the wizard still stuck on the stairs. "Could someone help him? He looks hopeless."

A couple of the fourth years walked over to him and tried to help him pull his foot out of the stair. Eventually a number of Ravenclaws joined them as the rest of the D.A. crowded around Harry, Hermione and Ron.

"Listen up, everyone," Harry announced. "We all need to pay attention when we get down there. I know there are loads of hit wizards and the like around," he said glancing at Ron, "but I don't trust them."

"What about this 'demonstration'? What's it going to be?" Katie asked for everyone. Everyone became silent as they waited to hear Harry tell them.

"What? You think I know?" Harry replied dryly. "I didn't know we were going to be part of the demonstration until Hermione told me." This made everyone turn to look at Hermione.

"You have no idea what we're going to be doing?" asked Terry Boot.

Hermione glared back at him. "Well, it is a _dueling_ demonstration, so I imagine you'll be quite disappointed if you were looking to use your star charts."

There were some laughs, and more annoyed rumblings from the group, with various people adding their thoughts: "I figured we'd be dueling, but how?", "Are we actually dueling, or just showing how...", and "I hope Madam Pomfrey is ready for this..."

Harry raised his voice above the murmuring, "Calm down! It can't be any worse than one of our meetings. There is one thing, though." He paused to try and think of how to say this. "I'd prefer not to be part of it."

The group was silenced. Except Ron.

"Right. That's bloody likely," he barked. "You've got a better chance of seeing Snape dance with Hagrid."

Harry shot a face at Ron who ignored it. "If I have to face anyone, it should be one of you, and it will probably be better if I win—"

"What's the matter, Harry, scared of us?" someone called out from the back, making the other students laugh.

"—But if I don't, it's _very_ important that we _not_ appear upset at each other."

"Because of Justin and Dean?" one of the third-years asked.

"Something like that," replied Harry quickly. "Come on, we should get down there. You'll find out what it'll be like soon enough, Terry."

The D.A. made their way to the Great Hall quickly. As they reached the doors, they met Professor McGonagall who glared at them. "We've been waiting for you." She led them into the hall, which had been rearranged since the evening meal.

Instead of the four tables in rows, benches were arrayed around a cleared area at the front of the hall. The benches were broken into four sections, with each row raised slightly higher than the row in front of it to allow those who entered late a better view than they might have expected.

The head table remained, and the Confederation wizards were sitting closely together where the professors normally were. They seemed to be very having a number of discussions while the students walked in. Since their normal location was occupied, the professors had taken seats on benches along one of the walls facing the students. The clearing between the students and the head table was completely bare, causing many of the students to ask where the stage they had used for Gilderoy Lockhart's infamous first Dueling Club meeting.

As the D.A. reached the benches, the students split into their respective houses, and sat down. Professor McGonagall walked to the right side of the open area, and addressed both the students and the head table.

"Welcome students and Confederation members. Tonight we have arranged some entertainment for our visitors. The Confederation members will select a number of students from each house, with some help from your Heads of House. We shall pair you up, and the demonstration will begin. Please remember that your performance reflects upon Hogwarts, so I expect everyone who is selected to not only do their very best, but to behave honorably." She shot a warning glance at Malfoy who put on his most innocent face which, from Draco Malfoy, was still quite untrustworthy.

As soon as she finished speaking, many of the wizards who were seated at the head table stood and walked down to the benches. As they walked toward the students, Harry realized that one row of benches in the front remained empty. The Confederation members began pacing in front of the students. A wizard with a long black beard stopped directly in front of the Slytherin section, silently pointing a long bony finger directly at Draco. He looked to Snape and nodded.

"Draco Malfoy," Snape called out. "Please take a seat in the first row."

Malfoy flashed an arrogant smile, and began strutting to the front row. He stopped in front of the empty bench and attempted to bow at the wizard who had selected him, but the old warlock had already turned his back and was walking toward the Ravenclaw section without even noticing the gesture.

Harry and Ron were looking around, watching the old wizards seeking the rows of students for someone they thought worthy. Occasionally they would stand in small groups and talk quickly before breaking up again. Harry turned to ask Hermione what she thought they were talking about, but found that she was already walking to the front. One by one, students were called to the front to sit next to their house-mates and ponder what was in store for them. Harry looked back to the head table and saw that Dumbledore remained seated and talking with a dark haired wizard who (judging by his robes) looked to be from Egypt.

"Why aren't they coming down?" Harry asked Ron.

"Dunno. Maybe Dumbledore doesn't think it's fair for him to pick anyone."

"The other one keeps looking at me," Harry whispered, looking back, "He wasn't one of the ones who came to watch me. Why's he looking at me now?"

"Hard to say, mate," Ron said slapping him on the back. "It's like you've got some bloody big scar on your forehead. You'd expect more manners from—"

"Ronald Weasley!"

"—Bloody hell. That's me," Ron said as he stood.

"Ron!" Harry called out before Ron could walk away. "Tell her I don't want to duel!"

Ron shrugged and nodded as he walked to the front where Hermione was smiling and saving a seat for him. Ron tried to say something to McGonagall but she pointed sternly to the first bench, and refused to hear him. Ron turned and gave Harry an apologetic shrug.

When Harry looked back at the head table, the Egyptian was watching him again. He turned to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore caught Professor McGonagall's attention. Dumbledore said nothing but held up two fingers. McGonagall nodded and went back to naming students.

Harry sat patiently listening to the names being called out: "Theodore Nott!", "Padma Patil!", "Michael Corner!", "Cho Chang!". The benches were filling up, and Harry began to relax. Certainly he would have been called by now.

"Neville Longbottom!" called out McGonagall. A short, dark skinned wizard in wildly colored robes had pointed him out. As he walked past Harry, he glanced back at Ginny, then scowled at Harry.

Ginny slid a little closer to Harry, but not so much that anyone might notice.

"They won't pick me," she said dejectedly. "No one ever does. I'm too _small_," she said in a patronizing voice. "They all probably think I'm some second-year."

"Katie Bell!"

"Luna Lovegood!"

"You're not that small," Harry said, as he tried to listen to the other students being called. "You're not that much shorter than Hermione.'

"Ernie MacMillan!"

"Oh, it's enough," Ginny replied. She looked to the front bench. "You may get your wish. It looks like they are pretty much finished." She turned and gave Harry a smile. "At least I'll have company."

Harry looked to the front of the Hall and saw that many of the Confederation wizards had returned to the head table.

"Zacharias Smith!"

Professor Flitwick went to stand over by Professors Snape and Sprout. Professor McGonagall was walking to head table. She stood calmly stood and waited for Zacharias to sit down. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and Ginny sat back with her hands across her chest. As they waited to see what would happen next, Dumbledore and the Egyptian wizard stood and pointed into the Gryffindor section.

"Ginny Weasley, please come forward," Dumbledore called out.

In a clear voice with only a hint of the accent of his native tongue, the Egyptian warlock spoke up, "Harry Potter, you will come down as well."

Ginny stood up immediately. She had a fierce light in her eyes and a smile on her face. Harry was somewhere between shocked and worried. When he didn't move fast enough, he felt Ginny's small hands pushing him forward. When they got to the front bench, Ginny sat in a space Neville had opened for her between himself and Ron. Harry started to walk toward Professor McGonagall, but she immediately strode to meet him.

"Professor, I really don't feel like dueling today, I—"

"Nonsense, Potter," she interrupted with a stern voice. "You were specifically named by one of the Confederation's senior wizards. Now take your seat."

Harry walked back to sit next to Hermione. "Just relax, Harry," she whispered to him. "This has to be the worst time for Death Eaters to attack Hogwarts. Honestly, with all these security wizards around—"

She stopped abruptly as a slender, grey-haired witch with a German accent began talking.

"Thank you all for volunteering for this demonstration—"

"Volunteering?" Harry whispered harshly, but he was quieted by Hermione.

"This... exercise may not be anything you are familiar with. I am told that in this culture, dueling is often performed on a stage in a very controlled manner. This may be fine for the teaching of young students, but you may one day be in a situation where you must defend yourself against another wizard. In this situation, there will be no stage, and your opponent may not stop when you drop your wand."

"We have heard that several of you—" she looked where Harry and his friends sat "—have already been in such situations. We will expect more from you. At the end of each duel, we may provide some instruction on how the volunteers might have performed better."

The hall was silent as she continued. "You will be paired up with another student of an appropriate skill level. Your professors will ensure that the assignments are fair. You will then duel each other when you are called. We may introduce various ...obstacles or... distractions for your duels. Do not let them interrupt you. The world outside these walls is filled with such distractions, and a duel can be lost in a moment."

"Finally, the rules of the demonstration." The witch motioned to the Egyptian warlock standing by Dumbledore.

"Outside the safety of Hogwarts, an opponent is not defeated until he is disabled and not merely disarmed. You will duel until your opponent is no longer capable of defending themselves. An opponent without a wand may retrieve their wand, or take yours. An opponent who is bound or stunned can no longer defend themselves even if their wand is still in their hand. However, you must not use any dangerous or overly violent charms, and you will neither try nor be allowed to cause any permanent or serious injury. We will monitor and stop any duels which become dangerous."

As he spoke, Harry realized he'd heard the voice before. "Hermione, that's him," he whispered. "That's the wizards we heard talking—"

"Shh! I know!" she hissed back at him.

The wizard's stern face broke into a smile, "Finally, enjoy yourselves. You will have precious few opportunities to defend yourselves in such a safe place and with such talented assistance," he said with a bow to Madam Pomfrey who was standing over by the professors.

The grey-haired witch spoke up again, "Very well! Professors, please assign the students!"

The professors came out and started looking at the students. Professor McGonagall had a roll of parchment she was writing on. As the professors began calling out pairs of names, McGonagall would write them down. Occasionally some changes would be made. It seemed that most of the pairings were between students of the same house. This came as a relief to Harry. He looked to Ron, and he seemed to have the same idea. He just had to convince the professors.

Katie Bell had been assigned to Warrington. She seemed more put off by his appearance than the prospect of dueling with him. When Professor Vector approached the other end of the Gryffindor bench one of the Confederation wizards strode over to speak with him. Harry thought he heard the grey haired witch ask "It was them?" Professor Flitwick noticed the impromptu discussion and quickly walked over to the Gryffindor section and joined in after conjuring a tall stool to stand upon.

Harry noticed them occasionally glancing at him or his friends as he tried to hear what they were saying. Finally, Professor McGonagall stepped forward to see what was going on.

"Is there a problem?" she asked politely.

"No, no. Not at all," Flitwick said. "Just trying to find the best way of pairing these five up." He looked at them and smiled. "It wouldn't be fair to have them dueling most of the others. Not with the experience they have."

"Would they duel each other?" the elderly witch asked.

"Certainly, they do quite often. They are all members of the Defense Association." McGonagall explained.

"Excellent!" she exclaimed as she rubbed her hands together.

"I'll take Harry, Professor!" Ron shouted, before anyone else could make any suggestions.

"You'll be quiet, Mr. Weasley," she said shortly. "I doubt we would see the best from either of you if you were up against each other."

Flitwick hopped down to stand in front of Neville, "Longbottom and Miss Weasley should be a decent match, wouldn't you say, Minerva?"

"I believe Longbottom will be escorting Miss Weasley to the Ball," McGonagall said with a look to Ginny, who nodded.

"Then let me fight him," Neville said with a glance toward Harry. Hermione gave Harry a worried look. Ginny looked both worried and surprised.

"That's enough, Longbottom," she replied. "We will decide how you will be paired."

"Then why not just pair these two—" the witch pointed at Harry and Hermione "—and those two," he finished, pointing at Ron and Ginny.

Flitwick looked jubilant at the thought of Harry and Hermione dueling, "Excellent choice, madam! Must be the two best duelists in the school! I've been waiting to see this for some time." He was positively beaming.

"Perhaps not," McGonagall said shaking her head. "I know Miss Granger too well. I'll not have her duel Potter only a week before a Quidditch match against Slytherin." Flitwick's face fell, but Hermione's brightened up.

The Confederation witch looked at both of them, then turned back to McGonagall. "What about these two?" she asked pointing at Ron and Ginny. "Is that fair?"

Ginny sat up and nearly shouted "Yes", but at the same time Ron shouted, "No!"

Dumbledore appeared at McGonagall's side, laughing. "May I make a suggestion, Minerva?" She looked surprised, but said nothing. "I think Potter and young Miss Weasley would do well together."

"But, Albus— Both of my Seekers? What if—"

Harry and Ginny exchanged frantic glances as they tried not to blush. Why would Dumbledore pair them up? Harry glared at Dumbledore's eyes, and the twinkle that usually cheered Harry up now only served to confirm his suspicions. Dumbledore had planned them to be paired together from the start, and he wanted to see how they handled it.

"You won't lose both your Seekers, Minerva. I promise you," Dumbledore said in a calming voice. "One of them will win, and they should at least be able to walk at the end," he said with a smile. "And, strictly speaking, walking is not required in Quidditch." McGonagall looked deeply concerned.

"Headmaster, are you certain this—" She tried to argue, but she stopped when Dumbledore turned and simply walked away.

Harry was even more worried than McGonagall. The prospect of dueling Ginny was even less appealing than facing Hermione. "Professor," he pleaded, "not her. It's really not fair. She's only a fifth year... and she's much smaller than I am!" Ginny's jaw dropped, and her eyes blazed.

"A fine attempt, Potter, but I'm certain you know better than I do just how absurd that is," McGonagall said flatly. She glanced at Ginny, then back at Harry. "And if you do not, I suspect you will learn tonight."

"I'll duel with him instead, Professor!" Ron exclaimed again. "I certainly won't fight her," he said with a nod to Hermione who looked as though she were trying to figure out if she was supposed to take it as a compliment.

"Of course you won't Ronald," McGonagall said. "You'll be paired with Zacharias Smith. Longbottom will be paired with Miss Granger." Neville's body slackened and he buried his face in his hands. The Confederation witch and the professors all walked off to the side of the room. The pairing was complete.

The greying witch who'd announced the demonstration stepped forward again. "We shall have refreshments and... ah... medical treatment for the participants after they've completed their turn."

"I wish our participants good luck, and to everyone else: Enjoy the show!"

* * *

Author's Note:

I really hadn't planned on subjecting my readers (the few loyal readers I have) to such a cliffhanger in the upload process, but I keep my promises, and I said I'd put Chapter 30 up on Sunday. So here it is, and you'll just have to wait for Chapter 31 to see how it goes. I hope it will be an enjoyable thing.


	31. The Dueling Demonstration

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 31 - The Dueling Demonstration**

* * *

Harry sat uncomfortably on the bench as the first pair of students were called up to begin the demonstration. Another Confederation wizard stepped forward, obviously taking the role of the official for the night's demonstration. He was quite tall, and seemed to be quite young. His dark hair extended to his shoulders and, along with his curled goatee, made him look eerily like a young Igor Karkaroff. 

"I am Lazlo Petrov," he announced with a subtle Karkaroff-like accent. "I will oversee the demonstration. This is not a thing like a tournament. If you do not follow rules, I will stop the duel. You will not enjoy my methods. Call the first... participants."

McGonagall looked at her parchment. "Michael Corner and Luna Lovegood!"

Michael and Luna both walked forward. They took up positions opposite each other. Petrov had his wand raised, and the two students took this as the cue to pull their wands as well. After their wands were out, he stepped back to the head table. They politely bowed to each other as Lockhart had shown them and then they looked to Lazlo to tell them to begin.

With an amused smile he nodded and said, "You may begin as soon as I drop my wand." They both looked a little confused until they realized he'd dropped his wand some time ago.

Michael Corner struck first, but failed to stun Luna because she was too quick with a Shield Charm. When Luna returned a Leg Locker Hex, it erupted in a shower of sparks as it hit a large statue of Cornelius Fudge which had suddenly appeared between them.

Everyone in the Hall gasped at the sudden appearance. Some students jumped up, others were shouting. Michael nearly dropped his wand in surprise, but Luna seemed simply disappointed. She immediately stepped to the side and fired off another spell. It narrowly missed its target as Michael jumped behind the statue.

With a nudge, Harry directed Hermione's attention toward the head table. Dumbledore had his wand out, and Lazlo Petrov was laughing. As the duelers tried to get a clear shot at each other, a few other objects appeared, added by Confederation wizards at the head table. Michael was getting more confused each time a new object appeared and Luna was finally able to sneak up behind him, while he hid in a corner created by a marble column and large iron grate. Luna stunned him, and he collapsed on the floor.

While Madam Pomfrey walked out to revive Michael, Luna walked over to the side where the professors were standing. She carefully carried a glass of pumpkin juice back to her seat where she sat dreamily.

Michael Corner eventually stood and, despite still appearing quite dazed, sat down on the Ravenclaw bench. Once he sat down, however, he blended in with the uncertain, confused, and dismayed looks of the rest of the students.

"Well done! Next pair!" shouted Lazlo.

McGonagall stooped to let Professor Flitwick look over the parchment which listed all the pairings of students. He called out the next pair and it began much the same way the previous duel had, with both students adhering to the strict formality they'd been taught by Lockhart.

This duel lasted even longer than the previous one, as the Confederation wizards at the head table took turns adding more obstacles to the dueling area. Statues seemed to be popular, and from the smiles he saw on the faces of those at the head table, most of the subjects were about as popular and respected as Fudge had been.

The obstacles were starting to clutter the area, and after Marietta Edgecombe was stunned after tripping over a small planter of daisies one of the Confederation wizards informed them that they had not made any of the objects indestructible. The hint was clear, and Marietta looked noticeably upset at her failure to think of that.

The next duel was surprisingly destructive, clearing the floor somewhat and resulting in the complete obliteration of one of the statues. It was reduced to rubble by a series of Cracking Spells while Tracey Davis hid behind it trying to burn down the fence Morag McDougal was hiding behind. Tracey started a number of other objects on fire, but never the fence, and the duel ended when the stone from the statue reflected one of her own hexes back at her, burning several holes in her robes before Lazlo put out the fire.

As the students caught on, they started destroying and vanishing objects that got in their ways. The wizards at the head table added more. One Greek wizard created a fine set of polished stone columns, and another added a pleasant shade tree, which rooted itself firmly into the floor. After only a few duels, the dueling area was starting to resemble something a little more real than a flat stone floor. There were places to hide, things to trip over and shadows to deceive the students. It reminded Harry of the Department of Mysteries.

"Ron Weasley and Zachariah Smith!" Professor McGonagall called out.

Ron and Zachariah walked forward. It started much the way that the other duels had started. Both students backed away from each other as they tried casting spells to disarm or disable each other. They both tried to find some manner of cover while keeping their opponent in sight.

As Zachariah ducked away from one of Ron's Stunners, a large dining room table appeared between him and Ron, complete with a full setting of dishes and utensils.

Zachariah tried levitating a chair and dropping it on Ron from behind a statue. Ron had jumped aside in plenty of time, and fired a pair of hexes back. Zachariah escaped behind one of the trees, and flattened himself against the it, only moving to fire the occasional Stunner or Leg Locker at Ron.

Suddenly Ron stood up and smiled. He pointed his wand directly at the tree and shouted, "_Incarcerous!_"

Ropes shot out of his wand and began wrapping themselves around the tree. Zachariah, pressed against it, found himself wrapped up in them at the same time. When the ropes finally finished tightening, he was bound quite securely to the tree. His wand was trapped helplessly between his hand and the tree. Ron simply walked over, wiggled it out, and tossed it to Lazlo Petrov.

"A highly defensive position can be quite safe," one of the Council members recited as Ron cut the ropes binding Zachariah. "But often extreme safety and imprisonment are difficult to distinguish. As Mr. Smith discovered, the former may often lead directly to the latter. A fine lesson, Mr. Weasley."

Ron was jubilant as he walked back to the bench. Everyone congratulated him as he sat down, including a respectable amount of clapping from other houses. Even Zachariah Smith smiled and shook Ron's hand as he walked back to the Ravenclaw table.

Cho Chang and Draco were next. Their duel seemed much more serious than the previous ones. It was quite apparent that they both despised each other and they weren't holding back in their selection of curses and hexes.

In effort to try to slow the duel down, members of the Council summoned up a pair of masonry walls, one tall and narrow, one low and long. However, Cho and Draco seemed to mostly disregard them. Instead they were more interested in destroying everything else that was already there. Draco destroyed a statue Cho was hiding behind with a trio of Reductor Curses. She ran for some other cover, smashing a pair of chairs against a wall near him.

Malfoy seemed to be taking a bit too much enjoyment out of the demonstration. Harry shivered as he watched him stalk around the dueling area. Ron leaned across Hermione. "Look at him, Harry!" he whispered, "Looks a bit too familiar, doesn't it?" Harry just nodded. Beside him, he saw Ginny close her eyes and grimace as she nodded her agreement as well. Draco already looked and acted like a Death Eater.

As if to emphasize this point, he began destroying the column Cho was hiding behind. His curses were coming too fast, and were much too dangerous for Cho to risk trying to attack him. With one last hex the column let out a loud _CRACK_ and came crashing to the floor.

Cho turned and fired off a Stunner, but Draco wasn't there anymore. He was striding toward her, with his wand out.

"_Abiego!_" he shouted, slamming Cho against the wall behind her. He fired a Stunner at her, but she blocked it with a Shield Charm. Draco tried again. "_Abiego!_ _Stupefy!_"

Again, Cho had shielded herself, but she looked a little dazed. Draco tried a third and fourth time, but each time Cho's Shield Charm stopped his Stunner.

"Drop your wand! I won't stop!" Draco yelled at her. Cho just scowled at him and struggled back to her feet.

Harry could see the cold smile in Draco's eyes. Harry knew he wouldn't stop. Draco threw her against the wall again and again until Cho's lips were crimson with blood. Lazlo looked angry.

"That's enough, Mr. Malfoy."

If Draco paid any attention to Petrov, he didn't show it. "Drop your wand!" he commanded. "_Abiego!_"

Cho struck the wall again, and was unable to get to her feet. Draco leveled his wand at her with an angry scowl on his face. Harry stood up.

"Stop it, Malfoy!" he shouted.

Draco just laughed. "_Abiego!_" Cho was slammed against the wall yet again, but kept hold of her wand.

"ENOUGH!"

The commanding voice echoed through the hall. Lazlo Petrov was charging toward Draco, his wand shining with bright golden light. With a flourish, a long glowing strand of light extended and slashed toward Draco with the sound of ripping linen.

Before Malfoy even knew what was happening, he was thrown to the ground violently. Malfoy's wand rolled away from his unconscious body. Madam Pomfrey rushed forward to the students, muttering to herself. After a brief pause between them, she rushed off to Cho. After only a few moments Cho was up and walking, though Harry doubted she would ever forgive Draco. Draco took a bit more work, and Madam Pomfrey had to pull him off to the side to revive him. "A much weaker spell would have sufficed," she scolded Petrov as he looked on.

Petrov shrugged and stared on unabashedly. "Perhaps." It took Pomfrey the length of the next duel to revive Draco and give him enough strength to stand. He eventually stumbled back to the Slytherin benches, holding a small bottle of some potion Pomfrey had given him to drink.

The hall became silent in anticipation of the next names. After a troubled look at the head table, McGonagall stepped forward again. There were only three pairs remaining, and five of them were Gryffindors. Neville seemed tense and kept looking over at Hermione, while Ginny tried to give Neville and Harry encouraging looks. Hermione looked quite unsure of herself. "Get off it, it's not that bad," Ron whispered as McGonagall looked down the parchment.

"Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger."

Hermione stood up and walked slowly forward. Neville paused a bit before standing. "Good luck, Neville," Ginny said with a weak smile. It seemed to help, and Neville straightened up immediately, stood up, and walked purposefully forward.

"Both of them were there, Albus?" One of the Council members asked. Dumbledore nodded silently. Lazlo smiled and nodded to both of them, with his wand raised. Neville and Hermione nodded to each other, and Neville flashed a smile to Ginny. As he turned back, Lazlo dropped his wand.

"_Impedimentia!_" Neville shouted immediately. Hermione ducked and put up a Shield Charm. Neville's spell bounced off the shield and put a small chip in one of the brick walls.

"_Immolus!_" he shouted again. Hermione was not expecting him to attack again so soon, and she found flames playing on the hem of her robes and quickly spreading higher. Lazlo began walking toward her, but she she was already behind the brick wall, pointing her wand at the flames with with a disgusted face.

Water shot out of her wand, drowning the flames in a cloud of steam and smoke. She then stepped from behind the wall and turned her wand on Neville. Neville sputtered and dashed away from the water, hiding behind some of the tables.

"_Evanesco!_" shouted Hermione, and the table he was hiding behind vanished. Neville seemed as shocked as anyone, but he quickly leapt away, trying to get behind something Hermione might have more trouble with. As Hermione strode toward him, he hid behind a large pillar. She attempted to do the same thing Ron had used to defeat Zachariah, but Neville dropped to the ground before the ropes wrapped around him.

"_Incarcerous!_" Hermione tried again. This time she wasn't aiming for the column but for Neville's legs which were poking out from behind it. The ropes found their mark this time and bound his ankles tightly. Neville was shaking his wand at them and muttering something.

"_Ebumpo!_" he shouted, but the ropes remained. "_Abrumo!_ _Abrumpo!_" The ropes around his ankles loosened and seemed to fall apart. Hermione was quite close now but hidden from Neville behind the statue of Fudge and a small tree. Neville aimed toward her hiding space from the other side of the column.

"_Difindo!_"

There was a loud _crack_ followed by a shout as the branch fell on Hermione. She leaned out to fire a Stunner at him, but quickly retreated with a shriek as she dodged a large piece of masonry flying at her head. The rest of the students were murmuring in surprise. He hadn't used a Banishing Charm. He'd thrown it.

Ron leaned toward Harry. "What's gotten into him?" Harry shrugged and turned back to the duel. Hermione still looked to be in control of the situation, but Neville had got in a couple of lucky shots that had forced Hermione to be a bit more cautious. For the moment she was keeping behind the statue, and trying to find a way to coax Neville out.

"Who're you cheering for?" Harry whispered to Ron as Hermione started the ropes around Neville's pillar on fire. There was a bit of silence before Ron answered. "Well... Hermione is my date to the Ball, and I really... well, you know." He watched as Neville tried to animate one of the smaller statues. Neville missed and hit a large stone. It hopped impotently toward Hermione until she reduced it to pebbles. Ron shook his head. "Still, it would be nice to know she isn't perfect..."

Hermione had tried to destroy the pillar Neville was hiding behind several times, but he'd seemed to have put some form of Unbreakable Charm on it while he was crouched behind it. She fired all sorts of hexes at it, some of which Harry didn't even recognize.

Neville was muttering spells at the column, none of which seemed to work. He tried spell after spell, eventually getting some results. He managed to make it grow twice as tall, and one attempt had made a second column appear right next to the one he was hiding behind. However, it wouldn't provide much more cover for him. It was mostly behind the first column, and did a better job of shielding him from the audience should any of them decide to speed the duel up. Ron and Harry could just barely see Neville's legs poking out around the new column.

After firing all sorts of hexes at the Neville, she got impatient and started moving forward, taking shelter behind a smaller statue, and then a table, and finally a low block of stone with the rubble of a statue strewn about it. As Harry looked to see what Neville was up to he realized that he wasn't there anymore. Ron had noticed it as well.

"Harry, he's gone!" Ron whispered. There was a low murmur as the other students noticed as well. Hermione's head jerked over to the audience. She knew something was up. "Bloody hell, Harry," Ron said in a low voice, "where'd he go?"

Hermione looked a bit worried. She stood up and dashed forward the last few feet to see around the column she'd been attacking.

"_Stupefy!_" she shouted, but the jet of red light struck the stone floor harmlessly. She looked around frantically. She started walking backwards carefully, her wand drawn and ready. She reached the stone block, and paused to look around. As she continued retreating, she stumbled on some of the loose stone around the block and lost her balance for a moment.

"_Stupefy!_"

A jet of red light sped toward Hermione and her eyes widened in shock. The curse had come from a wand sticking out of the second column Neville had created.

"_Protego!_" Hermione shouted as she stumbled. It missed her completely, but her foot caught on a large chunk of stone, and she fell to the ground hard, sending her wand clattering off across the room. There was a collective gasp from the students, partially out of amazement at how Neville had gotten the best of the most accomplished student in the school, and partially out of shock at the language Hermione used to express her own amazement at the situation.

"I never thought I'd get a chance to do this," a voice said from the pillar. Neville stepped out of the second pillar. He stood next to it, wand pointed at Hermione, while his other hand waved in and out of the other pillar. "Pretty good illusion, isn't it?" There was some clapping from the students. Hermione was looking between Neville and her wand.

"Merlin's beard. He's got her," Ron said in shock. "I— I didn't really think..."

Neville raised his wand. "Remember our first year Hermione? Now it's your turn." But Hermione wasn't paying attention to him. Instead she was staring at her hands as if she'd just realized she had them. She scrambled to her feet and started walking quickly toward Neville.

"She's lost it," Ron said. "What's she going to do, punch him?"

Neville started backing away, but then stopped and held his wand out and aimed directly at Hermione's chest. In defiance, she held her arms out to her sides and ran directly at him.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" Neville shouted. There was a flash of blue light as the spell hit Hermione, but she didn't fall. No one was more surprised than Neville when the spell bounced off her and struck him in the stomach. His arms clapped to his sides as his body stiffened and fell to the ground. Hermione massaged a nasty bruise forming on her forearm as she calmly picked up Neville's wand and then went to retrieve her own.

After Madam Pomfrey removed the jinx from Neville, the Confederation wizards congratulated both contestants. One of the older members, a white bearded Chinese man, spoke to them. "Mr. Longbottom performed extraordinarily well despite being matched with a more learned opponent. Confrontations such as these are won by luck and determination as often as skill. And luck comes often enough to those with the patience and determination to wait for it."

Another wizard nodded and spoke up. "Impatience was Miss Granger's greatest weakness and her greatest triumph. Her impatience nearly cost her victory, but her quick actions and desire for an immediate resolution saved her. Her Shield Charm would not have lasted much longer, and the chances of Mr. Longbottom being hit by his own jinx would have been quite low had she not been so close. Her actions forced Mr. Longbottom into a disadvantage he didn't see. An excellent demonstration. Very educational. We thank you both."

Neville and Hermione both walked shakily back to the benches. Neville looked disappointed. Ginny tried to give him an encouraging smile but it didn't help. "Well, at least we'll have something in common to talk about." Ginny stared at him.

"And what do you mean by that?" she asked with a hint of warning. Neville was still rubbing the back of his head and wasn't thinking yet.

"Well, we'll both have lost our duels, won't we?"

"Oh, that's nice!" Ginny shot back. "Thanks for your support."

Neville looked away but seemed otherwise unabashed. He replied in an even quieter whisper. "Come on, we both know Potter won't let anyone be better than him. Even Hermione couldn't beat him." Ginny just crossed her arms and looked away.

Harry could tell Ginny was upset about something, but she wouldn't look at him, and Neville kept throwing nasty looks his way. What did he do? He wasn't the one who'd tricked Neville into putting himself in the full body bind. Ron was still laughing and congratulating Hermione. She graciously reminded him that she only won by a lucky chance.

The three of them continued to whisper as Katie and Warrington faced off in front of them. Warrington knew enough hexes and charms, but his aim was horrible. "And he's a Chaser?" Ron said quietly. "He's got less coordination than most trolls I've met."

"Which is only one, really," Harry interjected.

"Yes, well he's worse than that one, isn't he?" Ron finished in an annoyed voice.

Hermione was shaking her head and joining in as well. "It's almost working, though. The randomness of it all is a bit confusing."

Harry could see what she meant. Warrington was dodging between obstacles and firing curses off wildly toward Katie, who was trying to make her way closer to him to get off a few clean shots. However some of the spells were so far off the mark that she was forced to see if he had been aiming for some other target.

When he'd reached the last obstacle before reaching the area the Professors were watching from, he cowered behind it firing off Stunners and Leg Locker Curses in rapid succession. He cast them about carelessly, causing even Lazlo Petrov to seek shelter behind a tree.

Katie, however, was nowhere near any of Warrington's curses. She had snuck around the low wall he was using for cover, and was now crouched right behind him. "Oh, how embarrassing," Hermione said as she tried to conceal the smile on her face. Katie tapped Warrington on the head with her wand.

"_Silencio!_"

Warrington tried to turn on her, but no sound came from his mouth.

"_Stupefy!_"

Warrington slumped to the ground, as Katie walked back to the bench shaking her head and smiling.

Even the wizards at the head table were laughing quietly. The witch with the German accent spoke up. "One well aimed, well thought out jinx is more potent than fifty hastily thrown ones. Mr. Warrington's... tactics may have worked well if this room were filled with his enemies, but against a single foe, more concentration is needed."

The Egyptian wizard at Dumbledore's side stared at Harry again. "I believe there is only one pair left, Minerva?" he said with a smile. McGonagall raised her eyebrows and nodded. "Of course," the wizard acknowledged. "I do hope this final duel will not be... disappointing," he said a frown. "I do not yet see the wisdom in this."

"Oh, I never said it was wise," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I merely said that it would be entertaining. Minerva, will you do the honors?"

With a deep frown, Professor McGonagall called out: "Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter!"

Ginny walked ahead of Harry, and slightly to the side. As they approached Lazlo, she whispered to him. "I'm not letting you win."

"But—" protested Harry

"Neville's already hacked off at you. What do you think he'll do if you humiliate me?" she whispered quickly. "Weren't you trying to avoid that?"

They stepped over broken chairs and tree branches until they reached Petrov. "This is because I said you were small, isn't it," Harry asked. Petrov smiled and waited for Ginny's response.

"Well yes, there is that as well."

Lazlo Petrov dropped his wand to his side and backed away. Both Harry and Ginny were holding their wands, but they were pointed at the ground, and neither of them was making a move to lift them. They both simply stared at each other. Slowly Ginny began to smile.

"You may start whenever you like," prodded Lazlo.

Neither of them responded, and yet neither of them made any move to actually start dueling. The corners of Ginny's mouth twitched and her hand tightened around her wand. Her eyes were staring directly into Harry's and he knew that she was waiting for the first twitch that would signal his first attack.

"Please," Lazlo encouraged them, "you may begin."

"I already _have_ begun," Harry growled back.

Ginny's eyes went wide, and she ran off to get in front of a nearby column. The branch Harry had been trying to summon without his wand wasn't responding fast enough, and Ginny had figured out what was happening.

"_Accio_"

The branch shot off toward Harry, and despite her efforts to get out of its way, it caught her ankle as she leaped in front of the column, and she hit the floor hard. Before anyone could gasp or shout, Harry had dodged the branch, and was aiming his wand at Ginny.

The shouts of "_Stupefy!_" and "_Protego!_" echoed in the hall as a bolt of red light shot toward Ginny, but bounced back at Harry. He ducked and scrambled away as it took a chunk out of the brick wall behind him. Ginny crawled behind the column and sat there, nursing her sore ankle.

"Not very sporting, Harry!" she shouted.

"_Viverus!_"

Suddenly a tea table near Ginny jumped to life and galloped over to her. She raised her wand, but it reared up on two legs and pinned her arms to the column.

Harry was trying to sneak around to try and stun her again, but the debris from the other duels was slowing him down. There was a sudden shout and then he heard what could only be smashing of his pet table against a stone statue.

Ginny was still standing behind the column, waiting for Harry to make a move, when she suddenly saw him aiming his wand directly at her. Their spells collided in midair, and ricocheted off into the Hall. Ginny began banishing any loose object she found toward Harry, forcing Lazlo Petrov to destroy a number of them which had taken paths toward the head table.

After being struck by one too many branches and loose stones, Harry retreated. Ginny was firing stunners and Leg-Locker Curses from behind her column. As he ran he turned and pointed his wand at a statue near Ginny.

"_Mobililapis!_" he shouted, and looped his wand gently in Ginny's direction.

The statue slid along the floor with a heavy grinding sound. Ginny didn't notice it until slid between her and Harry. With a echoing yelp of surprise and pain, Ginny's wand arm was pinned between the statue and the column.

Harry heard claps and cheers from the students as he strode toward Ginny to take her wand from her trapped arm. As he neared her, her hand turned and touched the wand tip to the statue, and with a flash it crumbled into a heap of gravel and dust.

"That _HURT_, Harry," she shouted through a grimace. Her wand was pointed directly at him.

Harry turned and ran for cover. From behind him, he heard Ginny shout out a hex.

"_Incarcerous!_"

He felt ropes wrapping loosely around his knees, and he jumped behind the brick wall. The fall knocked the wind from his lungs and his wand from his hands. It clattered across the stone floor and rolled into the open nearly twenty feet from him. He only had a moment before Ginny would summon it. He freed his legs and stumbled to his feet. Still gasping for breath, he made a running leap for the shelter of a tumbled statue between the wall and his wand. As he sailed through the air, his wand leaped toward him.

He could hear Ginny breathing heavily over the murmurs and applause generated by his last feat. He was lying on his back behind a statue, trying to catch his breath. He had his wand, but there was little he could do. It was only a matter of time before Ginny found a way to stun him. He took a quick look, and pulled his head back just in time to avoid a Full Body Bind.

He had an idea. He pointed his wand at a small brick nearby. It suddenly shot off toward the professors, scattering them and causing Lazlo to quickly destroy it. While Ginny looked away, Harry jumped up and pointed his wand at her.

"_Reducto!_"

The Hall echoed with a booming explosion. Neville shot out of his seat with a cry. Several other students shouted in dismay. Even Dumbledore stood as a great cloud of dust and debris blossomed across the front of the Great Hall, obscuring everyone's vision. It was clearing much faster than anyone expected, and Harry noticed Aurors in the back of the Hall striding forward with their wands drawn.

As he'd expected (and hoped), Ginny stumbled out of the cloud coughing and gasping for air, covered in a fine white powder. The pile of dust which had been the statue he'd used to pin Ginny's arm was nowhere to be seen. Harry calmly aimed his wand.

"_Ledus!_"

Silvery sparks shot toward the oblivious Ginny, who dropped her wand with a shriek as they struck her upper arm. Upon hearing her wand clattering on the ground, she seemed to wake up.

"SPAC Wand!" Harry shouted quickly.

The wand jumped from the ground and flew through the air toward him. Ginny had seen it and she was already in motion. She took two steps and then jumped off a nearby trunk. With all the skill of a professional Quidditch Seeker, she plucked her wand out of the air and landed roughly on the ground. The move caught Harry by surprise, and before he could react, Ginny was crouching only feet from him, with her wand pointed directly at his chest.

They both remained silent and still, with their wands trained on each other. Harry was frozen, waiting for the slightest move to tell him to attack or defend himself. He wanted Ginny to attack. He could dodge or shield himself, and he'd be in a better position to end the duel quickly.

As Harry stared into her eyes, he could see her determination. They were wild and focused on him. Despite the grim look in her eyes, the rest of her face was relaxed and composed. It looked strange, and it felt even more strange.

He felt his heart skip. He'd seen that look before, but not from Ginny's eyes. In his memory, the eyes were green, very much like his own.

Harry forced those thoughts from his mind. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Any movement, any twitch could signal Ginny's attack. His eyes scanned her face for the smallest hint of movement. Strands of her hair had been pulled from her pony tail and hung loosely down the sides of her face. She was covered in fine while dust, but it didn't hide the slight flush in her cheeks and it made her lips just look even more red. He had to fight the familiar fluttering in his stomach. _No,_ he chastised himself. _Think about the duel._

"Why did you have to do that, _Potter_?" she said as she slowly rubbed her upper arm. Her motions were smooth and almost graceful. She was purposefully avoiding any threatening movement, but there was the same hungry fire dancing in her eyes. Harry felt the urge to back away. Had he made her actually angry? She slowly stood, keeping her eyes and wand on Harry at all times, but the corners of her mouth twitched in an effort not to smile. Harry was relieved, but didn't really feel much safer. Even the twins had learned to avoid Ginny when she was angry.

The Great Hall was silent as everyone waited for something to happen. Harry decided he had to win the duel. He could deal with Neville. If he lost, everyone would assume he would be angry with whoever beat him, whether they were hiding feelings for him or not. While he wanted to avoid that if possible, he wished there was some way that didn't require him to face an angry, determined Ginny Weasley.

Some part of him thought up a plan. It wasn't fair. Ginny wouldn't like him doing it, but it would work. He tried not to smile as he concentrated on Ginny's wand. All he had to do was push it aside a little bit. An inch or so would be more than sufficient. All he'd have to do then would be to get her to attack.

Suddenly Ginny's eyes slid off to the side, looking over to the large windows lining the sides of the Hall. Harry wondered if she felt him pushing her wand, but her face told him it had nothing to do with anything he was doing. Her eyes were very round, her wand hung loosely from her hand, and her jaw dropped in horror. As she started stepping away from him weakly, Harry knew something bad was happening. He had been right. He should have expected this. Everyone would be watching him. No one would be left to defend the castle. Why hadn't he refused to be a part of this silly demonstration?

Harry's world seemed to slow down to a crawl. He saw the faces of the students turning to the windows, the Professors were trying to look as well. It couldn't be Dementors, he'd have felt them by now. Was it a dragon? Were Death Eaters flying toward Hogwarts? Why hadn't his scar so much as twinged all night?

Harry whipped around to point his wand in the direction Ginny had been looking, but saw only the calm night through the windows. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ron and Hermione jump out of their seats, Hermione covering her mouth in surprise.

They weren't looking at him, but at Ginny. Could it be true? A voice in his head responded immediately: _Yes, it could_. How could he be so stupid? Fred and George would be so proud of her. He tried to turn back around as fast as he could, but he knew it couldn't possibly be fast enough. In his own mind, Harry laughed at himself. This must be what Neville felt as he was hit by his own curse. Before he could even see her, he heard her clear voice ring out through the gasps and shouts of the students.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

A moment later, he felt the spell hit him, knocking him off his feet. He tried to hold onto his wand, but it finally wrenched free of his grasp. He watched as it sailed in a high arc over Ginny's head toward the head table.

He didn't have much of a chance, but he had to try. He stumbled to his feet and watched as it dropped into a large pitcher of water. Ginny was was already running toward it, but Harry still had the advantage. He focused and tried to summon his wand like he had done so many other times.

"_Algesco!_" shouted Ginny.

The spell struck the pitcher, but didn't seem to have any effect. Harry held out his hand, and suddenly the entire pitcher was flying at his hand. It was moving much too fast and Harry had to dodge it.

_Clang!_

It rang off the statue of Fudge and rolled around on the ground. Harry dove for it and reached inside. He suddenly looked up. Ginny was facing him again, but this time she was laughing. His wand was frozen inside the pitcher. Harry turned to Lazlo, shaking the pitcher upside down. He nodded solemnly, but smiled slightly as he stepped forward to congratulate Ginny.

The old Egyptian warlock stood up from the head table. "When your opponent is skilled in wandless magic, he is not truly disabled while he is conscious. His weapon is his mind and its strength lies in his will. To defeat him, you must disable his mind, or erode his will."

Harry was about to ask what that meant, when he saw Petrov back away quickly. He turned in time to see Ginny raising her wand.

"Ginny, no!" he shouted, holding his hands out. "I can't—"

"_Impedimentia!_"

The hex bounced off Harry's hands, but the force made him stumble and fall to his knees. He was more surprised than anyone he could see. Ginny was not surprised at all. She appeared disgusted and annoyed. She was also pointing her wand again.

"_Incarcerous!_"

Harry concentrated on pushing the ropes from him. He managed to keep his hands free, but he couldn't move his arms or legs. He felt a little dazed and tired.

"_Stupefy!_"

This spell rebounded like the first, but this one shot off erratically toward Ginny who was forced to dodge it. She seemed disgusted by her mistake. There wasn't much he could do. He searched the area for something that might help him, but he didn't dare stop holding his hands out in front of him. It took more and more concentration to keep shielding himself, and he noticed that he was feeling even more dizzy and exhausted. It was taking a good deal of effort just keeping his eyes open. He couldn't keep this up for long.

The room was spinning. Or perhaps Ginny was. He was having trouble figuring out just what he was seeing. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his side. "_That_ was for my lower arm!" A moment later, his other side hurt as he heard Ginny shouting again, "And _that_ was for my upper arm." Harry's ribs hurt as he tried to breathe.

"Did... Did you just...kick me?" Harry asked as he tried to sit up. He couldn't. It was like something was wrapped around him. His mind searched for the reason, but he found himself staring blankly into Ginny's smiling face without any thought of the question he'd been trying to answer.

Ginny walked forward and raised her wand again. Though he barely understood why, Harry pushed his hands out toward her.

"_Rictusempra!_". Her voice echoed through the silent hall.

Harry tried to stop it, but a moment later, his sides were aching again, but from laughter this time. He couldn't stop laughing. He was gasping for air. The world swam about him.

The laughter, the dizziness, the extreme exhaustion made him delirious. All he could see was Ginny's face. She was smiling down at him and laughing. This isn't so bad, he thought. For a moment he felt euphoric. There was only him and Ginny. It was just like the summer. Just him and Ginny, talking with each other like normal people. Through the haze, he heard her speaking.

"You know this is your fault."

Harry laughed with real enjoyment. At that instant, there was no Voldemort, no Death Eaters hunting him, no murdered parents, no dead godfathers, no classes or nosy reporters. There was just Ginny, smiling and laughing with him. Harry concentrated as much as he could, trying to force himself to speak. "B-Because I... I said you were too small?"

"That's right, Harry," she replied quietly. "Sleep well."

"_Somnus!_"

Harry's world faded into darkness.

* * *

Authors Notes: 

I wasn't planning on updating quite yet (only 2 more chapters), but Tronishere wrote a great review begging for more. So here you go. Everyone can thank Tronishere. Also, because (s)he asked so many great questions (heavily paraphrased below), I'll answer them to torment any others who might be eager for more:

_The twists are confusing_: Yes. I suppose they are. I didn't find them confusing, but then, I had the whole plot laying out in front of me, didn't I? I honestly don't know how confusing or convoluted the story is. I just know that it supposedly makes sense in the end.

_What's up with Neville_: A _superb_ question. I sincerely hope that _all_ of my readers are asking that very question. What _is_ up with Neville? Is there anything you've missed? It makes me happy that you're asking such a brilliant question.

But I'm not going to answer it.

The good news is that the story will answer it for you. So be patient, and Neville will explain it himself.

_Why aren't Ginny and Harry going to the Ball together_: You know how these things go. Well, maybe you don't. Occasionally you have to make decisions that are difficult. It's hard to tell which way is best. But you make them, and nothing starts on fire, so you assume everything is working out. Of course, after a while it gets more and more difficult. You can't really go back and change your mind, and who knows if it'll be worse if you'd try it the other way, so you keep going. Pretty soon, you're sticking with the original decision just because you've sacrificed so much time and effort that it would seem like a waste to ditch all of it. Harry and Ginny assume (correctly in my opinion) that if Harry had a public girlfriend, it would make her too much of a target. So, they are trying to avoid any hint of that, for fear of others picking up on the same things Hermione and Claire did.

_Is Hermione trying to keep them apart_: No. At least, I wasn't trying to make it seem like she was. Hermione is being a good friend to both of them. She's keeping their secret and trying to help them keep it themselves. She's the responsible one of the three, but is annoyed that she has to be there to be responsible.

_Please don't drive Harry and Ginny apart_: Hey, it's not me. This whole thing is driven by a plot that's been in my head for years. I've said that this isn't a Romance, so you should't really expect a lot of compelling plot coming from any of the romantic links between characters. Now, I'm not going to maken any promises I know I can't keep, I won't lie, and I won't spoil the story for you, so I'm not going to reveal anything that is in story for Harry and Ginny. I will only say that this is not a Romance, and that if you are expecting wildly changing emotions, you've been reading the wrong story. Sure, Harry and Ginny are teenagers and teenagers are fickle like that, but I just don't find it terribly interesting.

That being said, I... well... I guess you'll just have to read. I... um... yeah. Harry and Ginny are unlikely to change their feelings toward each other. How about that? Is that good? Maybe you should join the Yahoo group to grab my email in case... well, in case you want to add comments later.

_What is Dumbledore playing at_: He's really Dumbledore. I promise. And you're absolutely correct. Harry is being put on display for the ICW. I'm happy that was clear. I hinted at the reasons for (some of) Dumbledore's odd behavior. His position isn't as strong as it once was. Dumbledore is demonstrating Harry to the ICW. Chapter 32 does a better job of explaining. It's appropriately titled 'Revelations' and contains quite a few of them.

_Feeling frustrated for Harry_: Well, I'm glad you are sympathetic toward Harry. Or... well, I'm glad my portrayal is still sympathetic. He has been lied to by the Order, used (to some degree) by Dumbledore, isolated and somewhat betrayed by his friends, and now Dumbledore is manipulating him to gain support in the ICW. And we haven't even gotten to Voldemort yet. His life is a bit rough right now... but... hmm... I don't know what to really say about this other than:

Buckle up.

_Don't make us suffer_: I'll try not to. I realize I could generate more hype by dragging out the upload process, but I wanted to give everyone something to read before the real (actually good) Book 6 comes out. So here you go. I stayed up to give you this.


	32. Revelations

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 32 - Revelations**

* * *

The world around Harry slowly faded into blurry existence. He could hear voices talking, but they weren't saying anything. The sounds were jumbled in his mind, as if his hearing were as blurry as his eyesight. Slowly the sights and sounds forced their way into his mind, making him concentrate on them. For a moment, he had the urge to fight back. It didn't feel terribly different from the feeling he'd gotten from the first few visions he'd had that summer. 

The voices he'd been unable to make out earlier were more defined now, though he couldn't understand what they were saying. One of them sounded somewhat like Dumbledore, but the other was a complete mystery. They seemed to be speaking in some foreign language. His vision, however, didn't seem to be improving much.

A third shape loomed over him, and in a blink the world came into focus. Madam Pomfrey was leaning over him. She must have put his glasses on. Standing at the foot of his bed was the Headmaster and the Egyptian wizard who'd picked him to be part of the demonstration. Harry's head was still swimming a bit, but he felt mostly alert now.

"Can you hear me, dear?" Pomfrey asked in a soft voice. Harry answered and slowly sat up a little. He felt odd: not asleep or awake, but both at the same time, if that were possible. She asked him a few more questions before turning back to Dumbledore, saying, "I hope there is a good reason for doing this, Albus. He needs to rest, not to be drugged into talking with visitors."

"I can assure you, my business here is both official and quite serious," the Egyptian responded. Madam Pomfrey frowned and walked out of the room. Harry felt himself tense as Dumbledore followed her, leaving him alone with the warlock who'd been watching him since he'd shown up.

Harry stared at him, waiting for him to say something. In response, the warlock stared back at him, as if searching for some sign from Harry. Harry felt a growing paranoia. Why had Dumbledore left him alone? What had he been given?

"Why are you here?" Harry asked, finally giving in. The old wizard nodded as if he'd been waiting for Harry to make the first move.

"An excellent choice of questions," he said with a nod. "That was an impressive bit of magic you displayed in the Hall," the Egyptian said lightly. "Even Lazlo was impressed, and that is no small accomplishment."

"That's fantastic," Harry replied dryly. "When I woke up this morning I'd hoped I could impress some Hungarian wizard."

The wizard smiled. "Lazlo is Romanian, though born to Hungarian parents." he corrected. "I've just asked him if he had heard of Miss Weasley. It seems that he has met her brother, Charlie Weasley."

"That's great for him," Harry added with a little annoyance, "but that doesn't tell me why you're here."

"As I said: You displayed a surprising bit of talent tonight. Albus was correct to invite us to see you."

"And what now?" Harry asked. "Do I get a medal and a photo? Maybe a free trinket of some sort?"

"I am afraid not. I am terribly sorry, I have not introduced myself. I was too eager to congratulate you. My name is Najib Tefarra. I have been on the International Confederation of Wizards for over eighty years and I have seen few wizards who could have accomplished what you did tonight."

"You should spend more time here. There are loads of people who could easily lose to Ginny," Harry commented.

"While I am certain you speak the truth, you were not trying to lose..." the wizard said with a piercing gaze, "...but you were not trying to win either." Harry tried to protest, but Tefarra ignored him. "You repeatedly passed up opportunities to win which would have hurt or embarrassed your opponent. If you would have simply struck her chest or face with that Club Curse, instead of her upper arm, she would not have been able to continue."

"She's my friend," Harry told him. "I didn't want to hurt her."

"There were many friends who dueled each other, yet none quite so aggressively as you two. Young Mr. Malfoy was aggressive, but mindlessly so. Miss Granger did not hesitate to steal victory from her friend, yet she didn't display the same urgency, no... drive to her attack. To her, it was merely a demonstration, not a duel."

Harry sat up on the bed, feeling his legs complain at the movement. Tefarra walked around to face him again. "You and Miss Weasley were truly dueling, and were more concerned with defeating each other than displaying your skills."

"What are you saying? That we're not really friends?" Harry asked, feeling more and more uncomfortable being alone with someone who seemed to know more than he was telling.

"On the contrary, Mr. Potter," Tefarra replied, smiling. "There was a certain... familiarity—" he paused as if waiting for Harry to agree that the word was appropriate "—to the way you fought, an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses."

"We're both in the D.A.. It wasn't the first time we've hexed each other."

"Certainly not," Tefarra agreed, "but there were other signs. A look of betrayal at your use of wandless magic. Your restraint in causing her pain. Her knowledge of your fears," he said, counting them off on his fingers. He paused to look into Harry's eyes as he continued. "Your enjoyment of the challenge of facing her and her kindness in your defeat. No, Mr. Potter. I'd say that the two of you are connected by more than Quidditch and her brother."

Harry glared at the wizard suspiciously. "Why are you so interested in Ginny and I?"

"I came here to learn about you, Mr. Potter," Tefarra answered formally, "and to accomplish that, I am forced to learn about those close to you."

"Why do you want to learn about me?"

"Because that is my duty, Mr. Potter," came the quick answer. "There is a serious threat to our safety. We are all here to discuss what can be done, and some say that everything that can be done depends upon you." Harry bristled at the wizard's blunt reminder of the Prophecy.

"Why do you care? It's up to me, isn't it? Don't you have anything else to worry about?"

"Indeed, there are many things which require my attention," Tefarra said gravely. "My Ministry is searching for an old wizard named Siamun who has started something of a cult."

"Death Eaters?" Harry blurted out before thinking.

"Thankfully not," his guest replied. "They have no allegiance with Voldemort, nor do they seek immortality. Instead, they desire power in the afterlife, which they believe they gather through the Dark Arts in this life."

Harry felt his mind cloud for a moment. What did that have to do with him? "So... you want me to stop them?" Harry felt his anger grow as the old wizard barked out a few short laughs. There was some tingling in his scar, and Harry felt the world shift around him.

"Indeed, no, Mr. Potter," the wizard said with a smile. "Siamun is cunning and wise as an asp, but he will not trouble us for long."

"Then why did you tell me about him?" Harry shot back, ignoring the ringing in his head.

"Perspective, Mr. Potter. Voldemort is not the only dark wizard in the world, and not all dark wizards support him. But unlike the rest, his power has grown beyond Britain." Tefarra sat down on the bed across from Harry. "Tonight you met Lazlo Petrov. Less than a year ago, Lazlo's brother Marian betrayed him and his mentor, Alexandru. He was a member of the Confederation, and he was killed."

Harry listened silently as Tefarra continued in a somber voice. "Lazlo had been a member of the Confederation for only two years, and had been picked to take Alexandru's place. Marian struck a bargain with Voldemort. Lazlo was to be placed under the Imperius Curse so that he would become a spy and betray us all. Lazlo saw through the plot, but his mentor died when they tried to capture his brother. Marian is now in hiding, gathering supporters."

"He is not the only wizard Voldemort has convinced, and while Lazlo fights a war against his brother, many other council members are fighting against other dark wizards loyal to Voldemort. The war has grown beyond Britain, you see. Lazlo will fight his brother, but there is little he can do against Voldemort, despite his youth and skill."

"Because of the Prophecy," Harry said.

"That is what many believe, Mr. Potter. And now I too am convinced."

"You came here to see if I could manage? To see what the chances might be?"

"No, Mr. Potter. We came here to gain hope and wisdom. There is much that we may learn here to help in whatever small way is available to each of us, and there is much that we may see to give us the courage to fight no matter what odds we face."

Harry didn't know how to respond to that. What could Dumbledore have told them that gave them any hope? For a moment, he wished he was back at the Dursleys' and that Ginny was still able to listen in to all the meetings. Still, Tefarra had told him more than Dumbledore had for months.

"What have you seen that gave you any hope? There have been attacks... People have died... and still they're happening, even here."

"I know all of that, Mr. Potter," Tefarra said with a solemn nod, "and yet I have found more hope than I expected when Albus summoned us last July. I am not alone. Lazlo was to leave tomorrow at sunset, but he has now decided that he will remain here until after the Quidditch matches. He is quite pleased."

"What does it matter?"

"Perhaps I can explain. Many have told us that you are quite a talented Quidditch player." Harry shrugged. "You are a Seeker, correct?" Harry nodded again. "You have a match against the Slytherin house in one week. Do you believe that you are more skilled than the Slytherin Seeker?"

"Yes."

"An accurate assessment. Mr. Malfoy is deficient in his ability to react to the Snitch. He doesn't see it like you do. You have the advantage. So what then is the purpose in having Chasers, Beaters, and a Keeper?"

Harry frowned. "If it was just me, the Slytherins would run up the score and it wouldn't matter if I was better than Malfoy or not."

"Precisely. Without your Chasers, your defeat of Mr. Malfoy would be empty and meaningless. Albus and I are confident in your abilities off the pitch, but if we do nothing and simply rest all our hopes on you, your victory would be no different than defeat. Wizards like Lazlo want to know that they are not fighting without any hope of victory. They need to know that they are not playing without a reliable Seeker, in a way of speaking.

Harry tried to reply, but found that he couldn't remember what he was about to say. Trying to shake the fog from his head only made the world tilt and twist even more. His heart pounded in his chest, and he struggled to understand what was happening. Was this all a vision? It had seemed so different.

"I see I must go soon, Mr. Potter," the wizard's voice echoed through his head. "Your healer said it would only last a short time. Please forgive me, but I feared there would be few other chances for me to speak privately with you. You can still hear me, correct?"

Harry nodded and gave him a groggy "Yes."

"Do not tie yourself to the declarations of seers and the twisted words of prophecies. They are nothing more than foggy records of things which are yet to happen. Your prophecy says that you alone have the power to defeat your enemy, but it does not say you must do so alone." He gently pushed Harry back onto the bed, and stood over him. "Do not deny the help of those who give it willingly."

"But... only me..." Harry said through the haze in his mind. "...Don't want them to be in danger..." His head ached and his muscles felt as if they didn't have the strength to move an inch.

"We are all in danger, Mr. Potter," Najib Tefarra said quietly. "You simply have the chance to change that."

* * *

Harry's eyes blinked open, straining against the dim light to peer at the room around him. Najib Tefarra was gone and the room was dark except for a pair of candles which lit his bed. His muscles ached and his head was groggy but it was nothing compared to the exhaustion he'd felt talking to Tefarra. 

He had talked to Tefarra, hadn't he? Harry scoured his mind and the room around him for some sign that the aged wizard had been there. The room was empty except for him an the candles. Harry slowly rolled his legs off the side of the bed and stood up stiffly. As soon as his feet touched the ground, a small bell rang from a nearby room. Madam Pomfrey strode out of a nearby room, heading directly for Harry.

"Slept well, have you Mr. Potter?" she asked as she waved her wand over him.

"I... er... Did I have any visitors?"

"Several," Madam Pomfrey said with disapproval. "The Headmaster permitted only those three to stay," she explained with a look to the room behind her. Standing in the doorway was a very anxious looking Ron along with Hermione with a very worried-looking Ginny.

"Did I... Did I wake up at all? Earlier, I mean," he asked quietly as he looked at his friends.

"Did you wake up? No, you did not," Pomfrey said testily. "You were forced into consciousness against my instructions."

"By Dumbledore and one of the Confederation wizards?"

"Yes," Pomfrey answered curtly as she poured a hissing liquid into a small cup. "I never tell Albus how to run his school, and I won't stand for him threatening to have the Ministry order me to force potions on my patients."

"What was it?" Harry asked as he rubbed his eyes. "It feels like I've been sleeping for days."

"I warned Albus about it," she said as she handed Harry the cup to drink. "It was some ancient recipe for a Wakefulness Potion. I told them not to do it. You only needed a bit of rest, and that vile concoction took every last bit of strength from you."

She went on muttering about how irresponsible it had been, and how unfair it was to Harry, and how she would never allow it again after she'd seen Harry when Tefarra had finished talking with him. Finally, she motioned to Harry's friends and they rushed over to see him. Ginny was in front of him in an instant and apologizing as quickly as she could.

"I didn't think it would be that strong, I swear—" she professed as quickly as she could push the words from her mouth. Her eyes were large and glassy and she looked even more pale than usual. "—I just thought— I mean, a Stunner is supposed to be worse— You were just supposed to sleep, not end up— I thought McGonagall would just wake you up— but I guess it was stronger than I thought— I'm so sorry, Harry, I promise I didn't—"

"Calm down, Miss Weasley," Madam Pomfrey interrupted, obviously still upset. "I would have had him up and doing back flips in seconds if he was merely charmed to sleep. Mr. Potter needs to learn that his ability to do magic without a wand is not limitless." With that she turned and started walking back to her office.

When Madam Pomfrey had left, Ron and Hermione gave Harry insistent looks, and he started explaining. Harry usually avoided doing any of the wandless magic he'd learned, so they had little idea of any of its affects. Harry took a minute to explain to them that even simple things like summoning books were tiring. He'd disarmed someone without a wand once, and spent the rest of the night feeling as if he hadn't slept in days. He'd used much more wandless magic in those few minutes dueling Ginny than he had in all the months since he'd returned to Hogwarts.

"But you were using loads of it," Ron pointed out, "and you didn't look like you were all that tired until the end."

"I wasn't," Harry explained. "It gets easier every time I use it. I think it will always be tiring, but I shouldn't always pass out."

Ron shook his head and stared enviously. "If I could do that, I'd have been practicing every chance I got."

Harry looked away, and caught Ginny frowning at Ron. Harry hadn't shared what Dumbledore had told him about the origins of Harry's new talents. He convinced himself that it wasn't a good time. In truth, he felt ashamed and sickened by the thought. Ron wouldn't understand. Hermione would say she did, but even she couldn't imagine what it would be like to live with some part of the person who murdered her parents contained within her.

Harry asked for any news about what had happened after he'd lost to Ginny. Hermione quickly explained as much as there was to tell. There had been something of a commotion after Harry had lost, a few of the Confederation members had slipped out during the confusion while McGonagall calmed everyone down. That had been the end of the demonstration, and they'd been dismissed without any of the ceremony of the start of the demonstration.

"I think they did it just to see you in a duel," Ron added. "Bad luck for them, I guess. I wouldn't have guessed anyone would have had a chance against you. I still don't know how she did it."

"Would you like me to show you?" Ginny shot back at him. Ron just glared back at her.

"Most people saw it as a lucky thing, and a bit of poor judgment with that ridiculous diversion. You should've known better, Harry," Ron told him. "Malfoy didn't know what to do, but I'm afraid Neville has decided that it's proof that Ginny's better with magic than you."

"He's just proud that he gets to go to the Ball with the witch who beat Harry Potter," Ginny corrected.

Ron didn't seem so certain, but he didn't press the issue. When Madam Pomfrey returned she handed Harry a small bottle, telling him that he could return to Gryffindor Tower so long as he promised to drink the contents of the bottle when he got into bed.

Harry did as he was ordered, and he felt the urge to sleep quickly overtake him. It wasn't the exhaustion from before, accompanied by a feeling of powerlessness. It was gentle and firm, and in moments he was soundly asleep.

* * *

Harry spent the weekend lounging around the common room and working on all of the essays and other work assigned by the professors. While they had agreed as a group to assign less homework over days where there would be special events occurring, the result was not less work, but more work over the days which the Confederation wizards spent locked a secluded tower of the castle. 

Despite that, Harry didn't feel overly pressed while finishing the work. Some of it was still difficult, but he found himself remembering the correct answers more often and only seldom needing to practice new spells, making any work take much less time.

Ginny had tried on a few different occasions to convince Harry to venture out of the common room, but Harry had to refuse. When he had woken up on Saturday, Hedwig had been waiting for him. She delivered a note from Madam Pomfrey and signed by the Headmaster which ordered him to remain in the common room outside of meals and so he would get his rest.

Harry didn't fight the decree as much as he normally might have. The first meal had made him realize how eager everyone was to either make fun of his defeat or praise him for his new talent. He was happy to stay sequestered in the common room with only the Gryffindors.

Ginny, however, seemed to be feeling annoyed on his behalf. After two days of trying to coax him out against Dumbledore's orders, she gave up, and instead asked Harry when he would be allowed to leave. Upon learning the answer, Ginny left immediately, only to return an hour later, asking if he could help her practice new Transfiguration spells Monday night.

This had become something of a standard code for them. It worked fairly well since everyone knew that Ron had barely qualified for the Transfiguration class and even Hermione admitted that Harry was better than her when it came to Transfiguration.

So it seemed Ginny wanted to see him tomorrow night. The thought became quite distracting and he had trouble remembering the effects of all the charms he was writing about. It had seemed urgent, yet not urgent enough for Ginny to try and use the Mirrors.

Instead of thinking about Charms, Harry spent the rest of Sunday evening trying to think of what it was that Ginny needed to talk to him about. Maybe she'd simply wanted to get to spend some time with him. That was a much happier thought.

That night, he endured yet another restless sleep. All sorts of thoughts wandered through his mind. Some of them were encouraging, some of them were quite pessimistic, but Ginny was in all of them.

* * *

"Come on, Harry," urged Ginny as she led him through the halls. 

"I'd go faster if I had any clue where I was going," he replied.

Harry had been sitting peacefully in the Common Room, working on another essay for McGonagall, when Ginny had walked noisily down the stairs from her dormitory. She'd stopped over by Harry long enough to comment on his essay before abruptly leaving. Harry shrugged and went back to his essay only to feel the warmth of his Mirror in his robe pocket a minute later.

Reluctantly Harry closed his book and stuffed it and the roll of parchment he'd been writing on into his bag. He looked around to see if anyone seemed to be watching him, and then he walked out of the common room. Ginny was waiting nearby, smiling at him.

"I have an essay to work on, I'm—"

"You'll have plenty of time to finish it later," Ginny interrupted with a cheery smile. "It's not even due tomorrow."

After that, she'd grabbed his arm and began pulling him through the halls of Hogwarts. Once they'd gotten away from the common room, Ginny had stopped and pulled a hat down over Harry's eyes, effectively blindfolding him. Luckily they didn't encounter anyone else, since it would take a little more than usual to explain what they were doing. Instead, Harry simply accepted that she was leading him somewhere. Part of him enjoyed the freedom of simply not caring. He followed passively as Ginny led him down invisible corridors and through unseen doorways.

Finally they came to a stop, and suddenly turned around. Without a word she started walking back to where they came from only to stop and turn again.

"Wonderful," Harry said, "even you don't know where we're going. I would help, you know, but..."

"Shut up, you," Ginny replied, poking him squarely in the chest. "It's back this way."

Ginny took a few more steps and then stopped abruptly. She turned sharply to the right and opened a heavy door. She firmly pushed Harry through it and shut it behind her. A second later, the hat was pulled from Harry's head revealing a large ballroom lit by candles floating about at eye level. The floor was polished and reflected the candles. The ceiling was dark, with sparkling points, similar to the ceiling of the Great Hall.

"It's the Room of Requirements," he said softly. "It's brilliant."

"It's perfect," Ginny agreed, smiling brightly. "Come on, Harry. Let's teach you how to dance."

At first Harry protested, remembering his dreadful performance at the Yule Ball two years ago, but Ginny was persistent and refused to let him leave without at least trying. His first few steps were uneasy and clumsy. Ginny had her feet stepped on a number of times, but she didn't complain and didn't give up. Harry thought he was getting better. Ginny seemed to think so as well, but while Harry made less mistakes, the ones he did make were done with much more confidence and thus more painful for Ginny than the weak, tentative steps he'd been messing up at first. After one particularly nasty step, Ginny winced and declared that they should take a break.

"Sorry about that," Harry apologized. "I'm getting better, I swear."

"I know you are, Harry," she replied with a weak smile. "It's for the best, in the end. I suppose this is only practice for my night with Neville." Ginny looked as if she regretted her earlier decision to go to the ball with the same boy who'd stomped on her toes for an hour two years ago. "At least I got some time to dance with you," she added with a smile and a slight blush.

"Well, if I don't get any better, you won't have to worry about it. You won't have to go to the ball with anyone, because you'll barely be able to walk." Harry felt a slight pang after he made the joke. That was pretty much what had happened to Susan Bones.

Ginny saw the look on Harry's face and laughed lightly. "And that's part of Voldemort's scheme as well, is it? After an hour with Neville I'll be as bad off as Susan?"

Harry paused for a moment, unsure how to react. The answer came to him a second later when he felt a laugh bubbling up from his stomach. He didn't know if it was some charm placed on the room, or if it was the look in Ginny's eyes, but at that moment, he didn't feel like the whole wizarding world was depending on him. He was just a boy in a room, taking a break after dancing with his girlfriend. It felt good to laugh.

"You know, we shouldn't be joking about that," he laughed as Ginny's smile widened.

"Of course not," she replied as her face froze into mock seriousness. "If we're not careful, Voldemort might get angry with us."

Harry stopped laughing, but his smile remained. "I suppose it can't get much worse, can it?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Ginny said in a low voice. "I like Hannah, really. She's nice. I don't want her to get hurt." Ginny stood up and walked to where Harry was leaning against the wall. She put one of her small hands on his shoulder, and looked into his eyes. "But if I don't help you learn to dance, you're going to smash every last one of her toes into the floor."

Ginny flashed a smile, and with a wave of her wand the music increased in speed and volume. She pulled him back toward the center of the room and they continued dancing. After the rest and laughter, Harry found himself feeling much more comfortable and that feeling seemed to be just what he needed to really start improving.

It took some time, but after an hour of dancing lightly (with occasional breaks for Ginny to try and show him how he could improve), Harry found himself actually enjoying the activity. He didn't have to concentrate on his feet. He was able to simply relax, and enjoy the experience.

Ginny had realized the same thing, and seemed to have stopped being a teacher and took time to simply enjoy dancing with Harry. Without any warning, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and laid her head on his shoulder. Harry tensed up for a moment as he felt his throat constrict. He tried to breathe, but his lungs weren't cooperating. He tried to say something, and when that didn't work, he tried to look at Ginny, hoping he could find some way to explain his current asphyxiation problem.

When he looked down, Ginny's head was on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed and she had a gentle, innocent smile on her face, like the smile of a child holding their dearest treasure. Suddenly breathing didn't matter as much as he thought it had. He could feel her body pressing lightly against his, the warmth of her arms around his neck and the rhythm of her breathing against his chest.

He looked about the room, as the candles dodged around them, swirling slowly in time to the soft music. The room had darkened considerably, leaving them mostly in darkness. The stars on the ceiling twinkled and reflected sparkles of light off the silvery columns and mirrors hanging from the walls. Harry felt warm and light on his feet. He felt amazing. He didn't know if he could ever feel happier than he did at that moment.

When he looked back at Ginny, she was no longer resting her head on his shoulder. She was now looking directly into his eyes, her smile mirroring his own. Harry felt his heart beating faster as he stared back into her eyes, the warm glows of the candles reflected in them, highlighting the thin ring of brown around her pupils.

Suddenly his lips were touching hers. He didn't know if he was still dancing. He didn't even know if he was breathing. All he knew is that he didn't want this to end. He could smell the soft fragrance of her hair and feel her soft lips against his. He felt her hands pulling him down to her, and then slowly all the sensations merged together, so that he could no longer tell exactly what was going on, just that he was with her. Harry's mind swam with happiness. It seemed to go on forever.

A new jolt of excitement shot through him as Ginny's head tilted slightly and Harry felt something lightly touching his lips. Fear flashed through his mind (Was that her tongue?) but it was quickly followed by oblivion as the tip of her tongue brushed playfully against his. Harry felt her hands slide down to the small of his back. Slowly one slid around to his side, while the other seemed to be drifting lower. Harry's eyes seemed to be stuck shut. What was she doing?

As if she had heard his thoughts, her hand slid further down, making Harry's breath catch. He felt his body tense as the world seemed to turn to bright daylight.

"Ginny! What are you doing?"

A fresh feeling hit Harry: mindless panic. The voice in his head had never sounded like that, and where was that light coming from? Harry's eyes snapped open to see Ginny's eyes only inches away, filled with the same horror he felt. Someone else was in the room. They leapt apart violently, turning to see who had entered.

Just inside the door, Harry could see three silhouettes against the door through the light cast by someone's wand. He was certain he knew who one of them was, but who else was here? He heard a harsh whisper from his right, where Ginny was standing. The room brightened quickly, revealing their visitors.

Harry felt as if his blood had turned to ice water. Standing just inside the door were Ron, Hermione and Hannah Abbot. All three of them looked as if they'd just seen a Basilisk. Harry wanted to say something but he couldn't imagine any way of explaining what had been happening.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" he managed to say lamely.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Ron retorted. "And why are you kissing my _sister_?"

Harry stared at Ron in disbelief. "Why am _I_..." He turned to Ginny who seemed more angry than embarrassed. She was, however, ignoring Harry for the moment, and wasn't going to defend him.

"It's none of your business, Ron," she scolded him. "I don't need your permission to leave the tower, do I? Or do you normally sneak around spying on me?"

"We weren't spying on you," Hermione said quickly. She didn't look as shocked as Ron and Hannah, but she also didn't seem eager to try and get between her friends. "You'd said you were going to teach Harry how dance—"

"That was supposed to be a _secret_," Ginny growled.

"—Well I didn't tell _Harry_," Hermione replied. "Hannah and I thought it might be a good idea to teach Ron, too." Ron gave her a disgusted look.

Ginny looked horrified. "You told _her_? Why?"

Hannah glared back at Ginny. "Because Harry is _my_ date. Maybe you forgot after _kissing_ him for so long?"

"He might be _your_ date, but he's _my_ boyfriend!"

The room became frighteningly silent as everyone turned to stare at Ginny. Harry was just as shocked as anyone else. What happened to trying to keep it a secret? It was fine when it was just Hermione, but then Claire knew. Harry had assumed Ron would find out sooner or later, and now Hannah knew as well. How many other people were going to find out?

"He's your _what_?" Hannah asked incredulously. "Have you been sipping Firewhiskey? Is this some joke?"

"He can't be your boyfriend..." Ron said as he studied his sister's face. "He's like another brother to you. You told Fred and George you were over him." Ginny just stared back at him. Ron looked over at Harry. "You gotta tell her the truth, Harry."

Harry felt the color in his cheeks as Ginny turned to look at him. She looked worried for a moment, but then her face relaxed and a small smile appeared. She nodded slightly.

Harry took a deep breath. "It's the truth, Ron."

Ron's face was a mixture of surprise, confusion, and betrayal. Hannah looked just as confused as she did before, and since Ron was speechless, she decided to speak up for him. She fixed Harry with a steely glare.

"Three weeks ago you asked _me_ to the ball, but now _she's_ your girlfriend," she said with a little anger. "That must have been quite a kiss."

Harry looked from Hannah to Ginny, then to Hermione. They'd told him this would work out. It wasn't. It was falling apart. Everything was falling apart. What was the point of trying to fight it anymore? He slowly turned back to Hannah, but his mood softened as he saw the traces of disappointment in her eyes.

"It wasn't... I just needed a date for the Ball," he tried to explain. "It... Ginny and I have been— It's just a Ball."

"Oh," Hannah said, as her eyes dropped to the floor.

"And, well, I couldn't go with Ginny," he said, although at the moment he couldn't remember exactly why he couldn't.

"Right. I guess it was a bit silly of me to—" Hannah mumbled. "I mean, I barely even knew you... but everyone says you're really great, and it felt nice to be noticed, even if I wasn't your first choice." She sat down against the wall nearby, and let out a short laugh. "Ginny said that I was really lucky."

"I just wanted someone who was nice, and who I could trust," Harry explained. "At first I didn't want to take anyone, but Ginny told Hermione and she tricked—"

"Wait. She _what_?" Ron said as he turned to glare at Hermione, who had been standing apart from the rest of them, and keeping quiet. "You _knew_ about this and didn't tell me?" Suddenly Ron's eyebrows raised as if he'd remembered something important. "The morning after I asked you to the Ball... Ginny was acting strange... She's been acting odd since then. This is why, isn't it?" Hermione simply rolled her eyes and stared back at him.

Ron turned on Harry next. "I thought you were my best mate. You've been dating my sister for, what..." Ron paused and seemed to be counting in his head "—a _month_, and you didn't tell me?"

"Ron, Ginny's been acting strange since this summer," Hermione interjected.

The truth suddenly hit Ron as he stared at Harry and Ginny. Even Hannah looked up in surprise. "_Six months!_" Ron shouted. "And you knew about it?" he said to Hermione. "You couldn't tell me? None of you could?" Ron was actually starting to look hurt.

"It had to be a secret, Ron," Ginny said firmly. "I didn't tell anyone and neither did Harry."

"She knew!" Ron said pointing a long finger at Hermione.

"She figured it out for herself!" Ginny shouted back. Ron gave her a sour look.

"And she can keep a secret, but I can't? Is that it?"

"Not from Mad-Eye Moody, you can't," Ginny responded. "He never even thought of asking Hermione. And he thought that I was always lying to him. _It had to be a secret_. I was trying to help Harry. If Moody would have known he'd have made sure it never happened."

"And where is Moody now?" Ron asked, his arms outstretched. "Who are you keeping the secret from now?"

"From Tom Riddle," Ginny replied plainly. "From the Death Eaters. From the _Daily Prophet_—"

"Why should any of them care if Harry's dating some girl?"

"Honestly, Ron," Ginny said in an almost patronizing voice. "If they found out I was Harry's girlfriend, I'd become the biggest target in the wizarding world. Right now, it's a tie between you and Hermione, but you can be certain that I'd overshadow both of you in an instant."

Ron's mouth snapped shut and he stared at Harry. "Then maybe you shouldn't be dating him at all. I mean, if it's so dangerous—"

"It's too late for that, Ron," Ginny said sharply. "It's just as bad if someone finds out that that we were dating but stopped after someone found out."

Ron crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine then. We keep it a secret. It's just the four of us, so it shouldn't be too bad—"

"Dumbledore and Lupin know as well," Ginny added, prompting Ron to glare at her.

"So does McGonagall," Harry said.

Ginny looked over at Harry. "I think Cho figured it out, too."

"She has," Hermione said, "And Blaise and Daphne picked up on it by watching her. I don't think they'll tell anyone else though."

Ron looked visibly upset. "Anyone else?"

He didn't expect the response he got. "Najib Tefarra and Lazlo Petrov both guessed it," offered Harry. Before he finished, Hermione was already talking.

"If Fred and George haven't figured it out by now they've got some strong suspicions, and I'm sure Tonks has guessed it, too."

"So did Claire. Dean, too, but he was completely mental at the time, so no one believed him." Ginny added after everyone else had finished. The room fell silent as everyone looked at each other and understood the situation.

Without anyone noticing, the number of people who knew about Harry and Ginny had grown to at least fifteen people, including Harry and Ginny themselves. They exchanged a worried look.

"This isn't going to work," he warned the rest of them.

"Maybe not," Ginny replied, "but it doesn't hurt to keep it up for a little longer."

"You're joking," Ron said as he looked at his sister. "You're going to trust _Slytherins_ to keep a secret, some _third year_ Ravenclaw you barely know to not tell her friends, and Neville to keep quiet about his date being one of his mates' girlfriend?"

"We're not telling Neville," Ginny answered quickly. Her eyes were large and locked on Ron's face. "We're not telling anyone else, especially not Neville."

"You let Hannah know," Ron countered. "Isn't it fair to let Neville know, too? At least let him know—"

"That was a mistake, Ron," Harry interrupted. "We weren't going to tell Hannah—" Harry turned to give her an apologetic look. "Sorry, but we weren't." Hannah shrugged and nodded. "I... I can't say why I know it, but this is really serious. If the secret gets out, something horrible is going to happen. This is just what Voldemort is looking for."

Ron grunted in annoyance. "Perfect. Ginny's risking her life by dating you, but it's worse if she stops. You can't let the world know about it, but the number of people who've figured it out is growing. You'll never keep it up." He walked over to the door, but stopped. "There's no way out, Harry. You're trapped. If this were a game of chess, now'd be the perfect time to resign. "

"Oh, and that's a better option, is it?" Harry replied angrily. "I'll just give up and Voldemort and I can start another game, right? Best of three, you think?" Ron turned to face him, looking more annoyed than before, but Harry didn't stop. "This isn't chess, this is my _life_, Ron. I don't get to sacrifice my pieces and I if I resign, I'm dead. If you're so wise, you tell me what I'm supposed to do."

"It's too late," Ron answered. "You can't get out of this without someone getting hurt. You should have thought of that before you put yourself in this position. And before you put Ginny in it with you." With a huff, he wrenched the door open and walked out, allowing it to close behind him.

The rest of them stood around silently for a while longer. Then, by silent accord, they all slowly walked to the door. Harry apologized to Hannah a final time, and she shrugged and smiled again, telling him that she was fine. When they left the room, they found Ron waiting silently for them in the hallway. As they walked off, he fell in next to Hermione. Eventually, Hannah turned to go down a different hallway. The four Gryffindors waved silently and kept walking.

Harry felt a little happier knowing that he didn't have to keep his secret from Ron anymore, but it would have been a little better if Ron would have said something or even simply looked at him on the way back to Gryffindor tower.

The four of them split in the common room, a pair headed up each staircase. Harry went to bed immediately. Ron hadn't said anything when they reached their room, but he'd glared at Harry when Neville had looked up from some Herbology book to greet them.

Harry wondered if Ron was right. He'd never be able to tell anyone about Ginny, but he didn't know how much longer it would be a secret. There wasn't anything he could do, though. He'd fight it just like he'd fought it every year since he'd come to Hogwarts. Everything had worked out before. Hopefully, it would work out again.

Harry fell into a uncomfortable, restless sleep.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Well, is everyone happy now? Another romantic moment for Harry, and yet again it's ruined by Hermione. I guess it really does seem like she's trying to cause problems, doesn't it.

This chapter is loaded with information, and there's a decent amount of thematic foundation here if you're looking for it. Harry's got a better idea what he's up against, but he's been having pretty poor luck so far. With only 17 chapters left, the story's going to be picking up soon.

The next chapter should still be a bit fun. It's the Quidditch chapter. How bad could it be?

I said I wouldn't do this, but I think it's best if we all get used to disappointment, so here is a spoiler for the next chapter. I'll try to get it posted (along with a few more chapters) within the next few days:

"Harry felt a pair of lips pressing against his own... Harry took a second to register what was happening. His eyes had closed almost instinctively, but they opened again now, and saw Hermione's eyes staring directly at him. It was odd, to say the least. It did feel nice, he allowed himself to admit.."

Wow. That was so wrong. I don't know if I'm evil enough to let that stand. I might have to upload the next chapter sooner than I thought.


	33. Quidditch Double Match

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 33 - Quidditch Double Match**

* * *

Harry looked out across the frosted grounds as the sun rose above the mist. It was going to be a chilly day. There was already a noticeable breeze, causing the tips of bare tree branches to shiver and sway. 

Ron and Neville were still sleeping. They'd both been looking forward to their ability to sleep late. Harry was enjoying the peace and silence of the moment more than he would have enjoyed an extra hour of sleep. The last few days had crawled by slowly, leaving Harry feeling tense and generally agitated. Watching the wind blowing through the grounds was relaxing in its simplicity. And yet, he still felt distinctly un-relaxed.

He felt a familiar and not unwelcome tightness in his chest as the sun glinted off the goal hoops far away, above the Quidditch pitch. It had been too long since he'd felt the energizing anxiety of the morning before a Quidditch match.

That is, assuming it was the day before his Quidditch match. Hogwarts had only rarely played two matches in a single day, and it was never done in professional or international play. If the first match lasted longer than five hours, they're wouldn't be much light left to play the second game, and Harry (like most Seekers) didn't like the idea of a night match.

Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff would be playing the first match. Cho had been visibly upset after the meeting with Madam Hooch to draw the order of play. The pairings were set according to Hogwarts tradition, but neither team wanted to play in the chilly winter morning air. Cho had drawn the longest twig, but the Hufflepuff captain had drawn the very shortest. Katie and Draco immediately agreed on playing the afternoon game, despite the possibility of it being postponed.

Cho had been irritable that night when the D.A. Council met quickly in the trophy room. Both Ernie and Hannah wisely avoided her. She sullenly stood through the meeting as Hermione and explained about what they should do in the case of any "emergencies" during the matches or the Ball the next day. There were plenty of Aurors and other wizards around, so the D.A. was to assemble outside the locker rooms the day of the matches or outside the Gryffindor common room the next day.

As Harry got showered and dressed, he tried to convince himself that nothing was going to happen. Nothing had happened during the dueling demonstration, why should it happen now? Voldemort would be daft to try attacking anyone with all the wizards walking about.

By time he made it down to the common room, he was already feeling more confident and had almost started to feel happy. This trend was helped by the sight of a Ginny dressed and peering out the windows, much like he had after he'd woken up.

She turned to smile at Harry, asked about Ron and Neville, and shook her head on hearing they were still asleep. "He better not sleep too much longer, or McGonagall will wake him up herself." They both sat near the window and decided to wait for Hermione.

Not long after they'd sat down, they heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. As the turned to look, they realized the feet were coming down the boy's stairs. A moment later, Neville appeared at the foot of the stairs. His face brightened as he saw Ginny, but darkened a little when Harry looked at him.

"What are you two doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"Waiting for Hermione," Harry answered with a confused face.

"There _is_ a Quidditch match today," Ginny added. "And with the way our Beaters are looking, it'll be up to Harry and us Chasers. We were just talking about it." She gave him an innocent smile, and Neville seemed to relax.

They had not been talking about Quidditch, but it wouldn't have been very smart to tell Neville that they'd been very quietly discussing their schedules, trying to find time to sneak off to the abandoned office near the library again. Before Neville turned to go back up to the dormitory, Harry asked about Ron and learned that he'd just woke up.

About a half hour later, a dressed but sluggish Ron sat down next to Harry at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Neville flopped down next to Ginny, making Ron throw a sidelong glance at Harry. Harry ignored it.

The day was going well. He hadn't slept nearly as bad as the past nights. He'd enjoyed the sunrise. He'd gotten time to talk to Ginny. He was enjoying his breakfast.

He was going to play Quidditch.

Harry finished eating but stayed as Katie and the rest of the Quidditch team crowded around Harry, Ron and Ginny to have a spontaneous team meeting. It was one last chance to go over the strategy for the day. Katie had talked to Cho that morning, and Cho was confident that the match wouldn't be long. The Hufflepuff Seeker, Summerby, hadn't even given Ginny much trouble.

"She thinks it'll be a quick game so long as the weather holds," Katie explained. "She also recommended a Warming Charm that should keep us comfortable for quite a while."

Katie told them that the weather seemed to be clear but a little more frigid than they usually played in. She warned Harry about the glare that would be coming off the ice which was forming on the pitch and stands. It would make finding the Snitch even more difficult than it usually was.

Finally, the I.C.W. wizards at the front table rose, followed by Dumbledore. Some of them conjured thicker robes to wear, while some of them simply pointed their wands at the robes they were already wearing. One of them picked a spoon off the table and transfigured it into a long, and very thick, fur coat, bringing light applause from some of the students.

"Looks like it's time," Ron said with a nod to Harry's left. Harry turned to see Cho leading the Ravenclaw team out the main doors. The Hufflepuff team was assembled and walking in the same direction. Once the teams were out the door, the rest of the students filed out. Most of them returned to their common rooms to get heavier robes, or in the case of Harry, to get their brooms and equipment.

It took most of an hour to get all the students into the stands, while the teams took extra time to warm up on the pitch, literally. The Ravenclaw team formed a tight circle and Harry watched as small flashes could be seen reflected off the frosted grass at their feet.

When everything was finally set, a pair of the Confederation wizards stepped out onto the pitch, one of them carrying a large, ornately carved box. The two of them seemed to talk to Madam Hooch for a short time, then she turned and addressed the spectators.

"Welcome everyone!" she called out to the stands, her voice magically amplified. "Today is a special day. For the first time in twenty-two years, Hogwarts will be hosting a Quidditch Double-Match! First up will be Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff!" Cheers went up from the crowd. She waited for them do die down before she continued. "Following the match, as time allows, will be a short intermission and then the match between Slytherin and Gryffindor!"

When the second round cheers had died down, Madam Hooch stepped to her side and motioned to the Confederation wizards behind her. "The International Confederation of Wizards will be supplying the Quidditch balls used in today's matches. This is a great honor. Furthermore, two of the Confederation members have graciously offered to help officiate the matches. I will now call the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams to meet immediately in the center for the start of the match."

Both teams did as they were told. As Madam Hooch spoke privately to both teams, Ron leaned over Hermione to talk to Harry, interrupting his attempt to watch Neville and Ginny sitting a few rows ahead of them.

"_Three_ referees?" he exclaimed, "What do they think we're going to do?"

"I think they just want an excuse to have two more wizards on the pitch," Hermione answered before Harry could say anything.

"What are they worried about? The place is crawling with Aurors!"

Hermione lowered her voice. "They're worried because Harry is worried."

"That's fine with me," Ron said as he sat back and tried to relax on the magically warmed benches. "Extra referees will just make it harder for the Slytherins to get away with anything nasty."

Harry tried to put any thought of danger from his mind. If there was ever a time and place to attack Hogwarts, this certainly was not it. There would be no evil professors cursing him off his broom, no packs of Dementors invading the pitch, and there was no chance that the set of balls from the I.C.W. would be cursed to attack him.

Harry watched as the two teams zoomed into the air, swirling around the Hufflepuff boy who'd taken control of the Quaffle. Cho and Summerby flew off in opposite directions, though Cho kept a close eye on Summerby as he lazily flew close to the ground.

As the game progressed, Ravenclaw began to show the greater experience of their team. It wasn't at all embarrassing, but with a seventy point lead after just less than an hour, it was apparent that it was up to Summerby to catch the Snitch for Hufflepuff, and he was running out of time.

"The Ravenclaw Keeper's just too good," Ron commented as yet another Quaffle was stopped on its path to the goal hoops. "It seems like everyone is just a little slower than they should be. Must be colder than it looks."

"The Bludgers look like they're doing just fine," Katie commented from behind them. Harry and Ron both took the time to watch the Bludgers as they zoomed over the pitch. They were lighter in color and shinier than their normal Bludgers, which made them a little more difficult to see.

"They're going a bit fast, aren't they?" Harry asked cautiously. Ron's grimace confirmed this thought.

"They're probably for international matches. They're a bit faster in some places," Ron said slowly. "They say it makes the games more interesting. Less scoring, more trouble for the Seekers."

"Great. I always got on brilliantly with the slower ones," Harry groaned.

"Well, the Slytherins will have to deal with them, too," Hermione argued, "and you're a better flier than any of them."

"It won't help much," Katie said quietly between the four of them. "We'll be lucky if our Beaters can stay on their brooms."

Ron sat back and watched the game. It couldn't last much longer. Cho had already found and lost the Snitch twice, and Summerby wouldn't have realized it if he hadn't heard the cheering of the Ravenclaw students. After that he'd started loosely following Cho, which seemed to make Cho even more comfortable. She stopped trying to keep an eye on him, flew to the Ravenclaw goal hoops and just hovered near them.

Summerby didn't know what to do. Cho seemed to be talking to their Keeper, who hadn't been seeing much action in a few minutes. Slowly he drifted off, and seemed to be scouting the ground.

Harry saw it before anyone else, except possibly Cho. There was a bright glint moving quickly across the pitch toward the Hufflepuff Keeper. Cho had frozen in place, her eyes locked on the small yellow flashes as they skipped across the frosted grass.

Suddenly, the Ravenclaw Keeper turned and bolted to her left, passing only feet above Summerby. Without thinking, he flattened himself to his broom and shot off after her. When she broke off to return to the hoops, Summerby pulled his broom to a halt, and started searching frantically for Cho.

Unfortunately for the Hufflepuff team, Cho Chang was streaking along the stands, only feet behind the Snitch. Summerby made an effort to try and reach the Snitch, but it simply wasn't possible. A moment later, Cho was spiraling down to the pitch where her teammates and a small number of Ravenclaw students had gathered to celebrate.

It had been a impressive feint, followed by a good catch, but Harry wasn't cheering. Two rows ahead of him, Ginny had stood up and turned toward him. She was talking to Neville and gathering up her Quidditch Robes. On the other side of Hermione, Ron was struggling to pull his gloves out of his robe pockets. Harry felt a jab of anxiety in his chest.

It was time.

"Ron, can you make sure Sloper and Kirke get down to the locker rooms as soon as possible?" Katie asked from behind him. "I'll find Vicky and make sure she's ready. I thought that was going to last a bit longer."

Ron nodded in agreement and squeezed past Harry to head off toward the rest of the Gryffindor students. Harry considered following him, but since the end of the match, many of the students were standing or walking toward the house elves who were handing out hot drinks and snacks. He decided he would just sit for a bit until the rest of the students calmed down a bit. It's not like Katie could tell him much that would help him.

A moment later, his plans were interrupted.

"You coming, Potter?"

Harry looked up to see Ginny smiling at him. He nodded to the crowd around him and looked back at her. "I'll wait, thanks. Don't want to break an arm tripping over the first years."

"Luckily you brought your broom," she replied pointing to the Firebolt sitting across his lap.

"Oh," Harry said as wondered why he hadn't thought of it himself. "I guess I forgot about that. Here, you take it," he said offering the Firebolt to Ginny. Several students nearby turned, one of them dropping a cup of tea, and stared as if Harry had just offered a stranger the key to his home. "Katie won't care if I don't make it right away."

"Fine then," Ginny said with a shrug, "we'll both go." Harry gave her an odd look. "Come on, Charlie's shared his broom with me dozens of times. It's not all that hard."

Harry slowly mounted his broom, giving Ginny a worried look. She ignored it and got on behind him. He jumped and nearly dumped them both off the broom as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Goodbye, Neville," she called out as Harry adjusted his balance. "Wish us luck!"

As Harry took off, he turned to see Neville. He seemed to be forcing himself to smile, and barely choked out a "Good Luck". It truly wasn't far to the locker rooms, especially on a broom, but Harry completely forgot about the nervousness as he focused on the feeling of Ginny leaning against his back. He could feel her breath on his neck, and her arms were holding him tighter than really necessary.

When they landed, she let out a small sigh, causing a puff of vapor to swirl and rise into the grey sky. She waited for Harry to get off the broom before starting for the lockers.

"Come on, then. Let's see what Katie's got to say."

"The Bludgers. They're faster than normal," he told her as they walked.

"Yeah, one of the third years was saying that they looked like the ones the German teams play with."

"You'll have to watch out for them. Katie doesn't think Kirke and Sloper will be able to handle them."

"Don't worry about it, Harry," she told him, "I've got a good broom. I can outrun them."

Harry wasn't so sure that would help much. He'd been able to outrun Bludgers on all his brooms, but it hadn't kept him from his share of run-ins with them. He didn't have a chance to share that, however, as they reached the locker room. Inside, Katie was talking to the rest of the team.

"Ah. You found our Seeker," she said to Ginny with a smile. "You ready for a quick game, Potter?"

Harry didn't know what to say. He wouldn't mind catching the Snitch after only a minute or so, but he didn't honestly think it would happen. He didn't want to tell Katie to expect a short match, but didn't want to upset her by telling her not to. He settled on a completely non-distinct head movement which seemed to satisfy Katie. Without another glance in his direction, she went back to talking to the team.

"There's a wind coming in from the north. It's going to be getting a bit chilly, so make sure you use those Warming Charms on your brooms. And watch out for the Bludgers. They're faster than usual, so Kirke and Sloper may need some time to adjust." She threw a threatening look in the direction of the young Beaters. "But I'm sure they'll make sure no one gets hurt."

Eventually she stopped talking and everyone took a moment to charm their brooms. Harry used another charm on his glasses to keep them from frosting up. When everyone was finished, they slowly walked out to the pitch.

Madam Hooch gave both teams a few minutes to fly around and get used to the colder air before calling them down to the center for the start of the match.

"Welcome teams," she said to both teams after announcing the game to the crowd. Her voice didn't sound welcoming. She was glaring at the two teams as if they'd already done something horribly wrong. "There _will be no mischief_ during this match." She turned to stare at Harry and he stared back rebelliously. He'd never done anything to cause problems. It had always been Malfoy, or his house elf.

"The air is cold. The Bludgers are quick. The Snitch is acting a bit twitchy. We've got three referees today, so don't think you'll get away with anything underhanded. I want a good, clean match. Chasers forward!"

As the chasers came forward, Madam Hooch released the Bludgers which shot off into the sky. The Snitch followed them, and Harry lost it in the grey above him. Before he was truly ready, the Quaffle was tossed into the air. Ron shot off immediately for the goal hoops, while Ginny and Katie rocketed toward the rising Quaffle.

Harry had decided to stay out of the action for the moment, and stayed low to the pitch. It took only a second to realize that Draco had done the very same thing, though he didn't seem to be following Harry. Instead, he was shadowing one of his own players. It was hard to tell from across the pitch, but it looked to be Vincent Crabbe, one of Slytherin's Beaters.

Harry wondered what Draco was up to and he got the answer soon afterward as he was forced to dart to his left, letting a Bludger streak past his shoulder. He was directing Crabbe and Goyle. Harry knew he wouldn't be able to coast around the pitch like he'd hoped. He sped up, hoping that either Draco's goons would be too slow (physically or mentally) to hit him, or at least he'd draw some attention away from the rest of the Gryffindors.

After a few minutes, both he and Draco were sailing around the pitch looking (in futility, it seemed) for the Snitch. Harry was searching for some tell-tale glint of gold, but was horrified to see them everywhere. The dull noon sun was shining off the frosty ground and catching patches of ice on every surface it seemed. His best advantage over Malfoy had always been his ability to see the Snitch first, but it didn't look like he'd have that advantage today.

The rest of the team seemed to be feeling about the same. Ron had already let the Slytherins score twice, despite making many more saves. Katie and the Chasers had done quite well also, giving Gryffindor a sixty point lead. It might have been more, but Kirke and Sloper were outmatched utterly. They might have put up a better show if Lucius Malfoy had bought them brooms as well, but there were many reasons why that wasn't terribly likely.

As a result, the Gryffindor Chasers were being relentlessly harassed by Bludgers. Vicky Frobisher had taken a nasty hit to her thigh, Ginny had dropped the Quaffle after a glancing blow to her shoulder, and even Katie had missed a pass after a Bludger brushed her twigs.

"Bloody Hell!" Katie shouted after Vicky fumbled a pass, leaving Ron facing all of the Slytherin Chasers. As they whirled around a very upset Ron, Katie turned on her Beaters. "If that happens again, you'll wish you were in Hufflepuff!"

The two Beaters looked angry and slightly afraid, and they took off with new urgency. The Bludgers became a little less dangerous, but it was not the last time that they lost a Quaffle because of Crabbe or Goyle. Katie didn't scold them any more, however. There was only so much she could ask.

Meanwhile, Harry was trying to accomplish the nearly impossible task of finding the Snitch. He was beginning to think he would never find it. He'd dove a couple times already, only to find he was chasing shadows and reflections. Once he was fairly certain he'd actually seen the Snitch, but it was on the far end of the pitch, and before he could even get close, he'd lost it again. If he would have been able to fly slower, like Malfoy, he might have already spotted it, but Crabbe and Goyle made sure to send a couple Bludgers at him whenever he so much as slowed down.

The only good news was that if he could hold out just a little longer, it might not matter. The Slytherin Chasers were no match for Katie, Ginny and Vicky. In just a little over an hour, they had built up a one hundred twenty point lead. Four more goals and it wouldn't matter if he got the Snitch or not.

Harry slowed a little to watch as Ginny soared toward the Slytherin Keeper and launched the Quaffle through the lower hoop. A huge cheer rose from the Gryffindor students. Only thirty more points. Harry turned his broom to fly closer to Draco. His Firebolt was still faster than Draco's broom, and he might be a little safer from Bludgers by him. As he neared him, Draco snarled at him.

"What's the matter, Potter? You're looking a little tired. Spending too much time dodging, I'd say."

Harry didn't respond, but instead he heard another cheer from the Gryffindors. They'd increased their lead to one hundred forty.

"Not much time left, Malfoy," Harry jeered. "If this lasts much longer it won't matter who gets the Snitch."

"If this last much longer, they'll be taking your Chasers off the pitch on stretchers!"

"They look like they're doing pretty well to me," Harry replied as he watched Ron block a hoop and toss the Quaffle off to his sister.

Suddenly he froze. The Snitch. It was by the goal hoops, close to the pitch. Malfoy had noticed Harry's reaction and now he'd seen it as well. Malfoy's eyes darted to the scoreboard, and a second later he was gone. If he got the Snitch, Slytherin would win.

Harry shot off after him, and a moment later he was only inches behind him as they streaked toward the base of the goal hoops. Harry heard the cheers of the crowd over the bitter cold air rushing past his face. Then there was a break, followed by an explosion of cheering. Harry was confused for a moment. They hadn't reached the Snitch yet. He looked above him, and saw Ron in a vertical loop.

Gryffindor had scored. They led by one hundred fifty.

The Snitch was flying away now, and Harry and Malfoy were following it. As they inched up on it, Harry called out to Malfoy.

"Check the score, Malfoy!"

Malfoy looked back at Harry with a gleeful grimace. But his face soured at the look on Harry's face. A second later, they passed the scoreboard and Draco let out an enraged scream. He kept on the Snitch, which seemed to be gaining speed, and called out to his team.

"CRABBE! WARRINGTON! You don't want to even _think_ of what I'll do to you if you don't score _NOW!_"

Harry took the opportunity to inch forward so that he was almost at Draco's side. They flew around the Slytherin goal hoops, and as they came out, Harry saw Vicky Frobisher falling to the pitch as the crowd gasped. Only a few seconds later, there was a second groan as Katie was almost knocked from her broom. She righted herself, but was cradling her left arm.

The Snitch slowed suddenly and dove for the center of the pitch. Draco dove as well, but Harry's broom was better and he took the lead. He leveled out over the pitch, with the Snitch only two feet in front of him. He put on a last burst of speed and reached out for it.

_WHAM!_

Harry felt like the Whomping Willow had clubbed him in the ribs. He lost control of his broom and struggled to steer it away from the stands before he hit them. He succeeded, but he'd completely lost the Snitch. He scanned the area and found a laughing Goyle and Draco Malfoy streaking away from him following a speck of gold.

Harry felt panic jabbing at his stomach. Draco would get the Snitch soon. Even if he didn't, the Gryffindor team wouldn't be able to hold the lead for much longer. Harry had to do something. He watched as the Snitch turned and headed back toward the Slytherin side. Harry turned and flew off, hoping to get there before it did.

As he flew he heard the roar of the crowd. He looked about and saw something streak a few feet over him. Something small, with red hair tied in a ponytail. Harry instinctively turned to look at Ginny, and for a second the world came to a standstill.

She had the Quaffle.

Harry's mind raced. The Slytherin Chasers were nowhere to be seen. They were up by one hundred fifty points. If she scored, it wouldn't matter if Draco got the Snitch. He didn't need to reach the Snitch. He only had to keep Draco from getting it for a little bit. With new urgency, he shot forward and upward.

He lazily dodged a poorly aimed Bludger, only to hear a shriek as it came frighteningly close to Ginny. Draco was diving to the pitch again, with the Snitch very close in front of him. If he dove, he'd be able to distract Malfoy for a second or so.

As he pushed his handle down to dive toward Malfoy, Harry saw Crabbe flying toward the Bludger that had missed Ginny. He was too close to her. He wouldn't miss.

Without thinking, Harry yanked up on the handle, and flattened himself against his Firebolt. He rocketed forward with all the speed he could manage. He was gaining on her quickly, but perhaps not quickly enough.

He heard the crack of Crabbe's bat as it struck the Bludger, and saw the frightening shift in the Bludger's direction as it headed directly toward Ginny. She hadn't seen it. She was already winding up for her throw.

Harry strained against his broom, urging it faster as the Bludger got closer and closer to Ginny.

It connected with a sickening _THUD_ as the crowd burst into mixes of cheers, groans, and frantic shouting.

Ginny was too shocked to know what to do, but instinct seemed to take over. He'd appeared out of nowhere. She hadn't known the Bludger was coming, and suddenly he'd been there. She'd watched passively as the Bludger slammed into Harry's hip, flipping him over.

She'd followed through, mechanically it seemed. As Harry spiraled toward the ground, only hanging onto his broom with his hands, the Quaffle floated through the center hoop and she'd flown past all of it. She pulled roughly on her broom, turning and trying to find where Harry had gone. He'd been falling, though somewhat slowly. She had to help him.

She shouted for Madam Hooch, but her voice was drowned out by hundreds of other shouting voices. It seemed like everyone in the crowd was shouting. She shouted louder as she circled and finally saw Harry lying on the pitch, with his Firebolt only about fifteen feet from him, and mercifully unharmed. As she headed for the ground, she heard a loud whistle. Someone had seen him.

Something was wrong. As she hit the ground and stopped to look around. There were other students running toward him already. Ginny panicked. What had happened? Students were coming down from the stands. She stood still as Colin Creevey ran over to her and shook her hand.

"Brilliant, Ginny! Absolutely brilliant match!" he said quickly before running off toward Harry.

Ginny's head snapped over toward the scoreboard. She could barely believe what she saw: "SLYTHERIN: 210 - GRYFFINDOR: 220". Beneath it, in red writing: "FINAL SCORE". Ginny blinked twice. Draco had caught the Snitch. He'd caught the Snitch and lost the game.

Harry must have seen it. He'd done it. He'd won the match. She didn't even realize that she was already running toward him.

* * *

Harry remembered the Bludger hitting him. He acutely remembered the pain in his hip where it had slammed into him. He only vaguely remembered struggling to hang onto his broom, and he was pretty sure that he remembered hitting the ground. 

He wasn't sure how long he'd been laying on the frozen ground, and he didn't know who the wizard looking at him was. He was positive that he had no idea where all of the people around him came from. A new face came into view, a face he knew.

"Perhaps we need to go over the rules of Quidditch once more, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said sternly. "A Seeker's job is to catch the Snitch, not put themselves between Chasers and Bludgers." Slowly a smile crept across her face. "The results, however, are acceptable."

A cheer went up from the crowd around him as more people were pushing their way to the center of the crowd. Harry stood up slowly, wincing only slightly with the pain in his hip. He felt a little dizzy, but good otherwise.

"You'll want this, Potter," Katie said as she walked forward holding Harry's Firebolt. "Looks like it got a nasty scratch on the front there, but we'll fix that up before the next match."

"It's over?" Harry asked. "Did it work? How much did I miss?"

"I don't think you missed any of it," Katie said with a smile. "At least, not the important parts. You did it, Harry. I don't know how, or why, but you did. We won." Harry just stared at her for a moment, unsure of how it had happened, and trying to focus on her explanation. "Ginny scored, and Malfoy must have been too excited about the possibility of actually touching a Snitch that the git didn't realize that it was us who scored and not his own team."

Ron pushed his way forward to shake Harry's hand. "Great job, mate. It was bloody stupid and painful to watch, but it worked." Behind him was Hermione, Neville and most of the D.A. Council: Hannah Abbot, Ernie MacMillan, Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood and even Daphne Greengrass (though she was hunched a bit and trying to hide under her cloak). There was only one person missing.

"Ginny?" Harry said as he craned his head over the crowd. "Is Ginny okay?"

"HARRY!" came the answering shout. With a last push, Ginny broke through the last row of students and leapt at Harry.

Harry braced himself for the impact. He felt a twinge in his hip as she reached him, but he quickly forgot as he felt her arms wrap around him.

"We did it!" she shouted. Harry saw the jubilant smile on her face. It was contagious. He couldn't help but smile as well. Everyone was cheering and celebrating. They'd won. It was only a single match, but Malfoy would be furious, and that made Harry even happier. He felt content.

He smiled as Ginny looked into his eyes. She had beautiful eyes. Her hands felt warm against his neck. When her lips met his, he felt as if he was melting. They parted slightly, and Harry felt his spine turning to jelly. The noise seemed to drift away, and the world was forgotten.

The world, however, had not forgotten about them. The crowd around them fell silent almost immediately in shock, until one of the second year's found the right words to describe everyone's feeling:

"Wow."

Harry discovered that the kiss hadn't driven the sounds from his mind, but had rather driven the ability to speak from everyone else's. That one single word broke the spell, and Harry's eyes flew open to see the panic in Ginny's face.

Ginny pushed away from him, almost violently, nearly sending him tumbling to the pitch. Harry felt another sharp pain in his hip as he steadied himself, but it was nothing compared to the feeling he got as he saw everyone staring at him. It was as if his stomach had dropped into his shoes. Just when he thought it couldn't get worse, he saw the one person who he'd have wanted to be there even less than Draco Malfoy.

Neville Longbottom was standing next to Hermione, giving Harry and Ginny a strange, suspicious look. Ginny saw it and blushed immediately. Hopefully everyone would take it as embarrassment instead of the fear that Harry felt. Before he could say anything, his view of the world was blocked again, as Hermione pulled off her hat and jumped past Ginny.

Just as quickly as before, Harry felt a pair of lips pressing against his own. This time, however, they were kept firmly closed. Harry took a second to register what was happening. His eyes had closed almost instinctively, but they opened again only to see Hermione's eyes staring directly at him. It was odd, to say the least. It did feel nice, he allowed himself to admit, but any possible enjoyment was stolen by the scolding look he saw in Hermione's eyes while her curly hair hid their faces from the rest of the onlookers.

Finally she pulled away from Harry, leaving him feeling just as worried and much more confused than he was before. It was made worse as she walked away, and Harry saw the looks on his friends' faces.

Neville looked even angrier and just as confused. Ginny was standing next to him, her arm loosely linked with his, and her mouth hanging open in surprise and outrage. Ron's face however, was much more angry. He was looking at Harry as if he'd just stolen everything he owned. He tried to think of a way to explain everything, but the words didn't come. He opened his mouth and as before he could react, a third girl was kissing him.

It was Hannah. Harry recognized the lilac perfume she liked to wear. He tried to back away, but her hands wrapped around his head and pressed his lips to hers. They were soft and warm, and much more relaxed than Hermione's. When Harry looked, he was surprised to see Hannah's eyes closed as she pressed herself up against him. What is she doing, he asked himself as his mind tried to process what was going on. What was Hermione doing? What is going on? Those thoughts were chased from his mind by a leap of his stomach and a stabbing panic in his heart as a new thought pushed its way forward: Was that her tongue?

"That's quite enough!" a familiar voice scolded. Hannah backed away, smiling slightly. Professor McGonagall glared at Harry. She glared at Hannah, too, but it was nothing compared to the look she got from Ginny. "The match is finished. Everyone back to the castle!"

Professor McGonagall took one last opportunity to attempt to scold Harry with her eyes before walking off with the Confederation wizards who had acted as referees for the match. They smiled and nodded at Harry as they walked off.

Slowly everyone turned and started walking. Ron took Hermione's hand and started walking first, as Hermione gave Harry yet another disapproving glare. Hannah wrapped an arm around Harry and walked behind them. As the walked, Harry saw Ginny following him, smiling at Neville though her eyes were glaring icily at the back of Hannah's head. Katie and the rest of the older Gryffindor's followed around them, remaining quiet if only out of confusion over why they were saying absolutely nothing.

The only person who was willing to speak was one of the second year boys, who walked up to Harry as they neared the entrance to Hogwarts Castle. He asked Harry if he was still in his sixth year. Harry gave him a bewildered nod.

"Excellent," the boy said to one of his friends. "That'll give me two years to practice."

Ron narrowed his eyes at the boy, while Hannah stifled a laugh in her free hand.

Once inside the castle they found themselves in the rather crowded Entrance Hall. It was filled with students pulling off cloaks and hats and scarves. Ginny pushed past several of the students, and caught Hermione.

"We have a Council meeting," she said quietly but firmly. "Now."

Hermione gave her an annoyed look as Ginny weaved her way through the rest of the students, leading Neville up the staircase. When Ginny had gone, Hermione turned to scowl at Harry.

"It looks like we've got a meeting," she said coldly. "Hannah, can you find Ernie immediately?" Hannah nodded and slipped into the crowd. Hermione turned and gave a quick, almost imperceptible signal to Cho across the Hall, and she disappeared as well.

Harry didn't understand what was going on. What were they doing? What were they going to talk about?

"Come on, you three. Party in the common room," said Katie as she walked up to them.

"We'll be there in a little bit," Hermione said distractedly. "We have some business to attend to."

"That's fine. I mostly wanted Ron and Harry there, anyways," she replied, then quickly added, "—not that you aren't fun to have around as well. No offense, you know?"

"None taken," Hermione answered flatly as her head swiveled, searching the crowd. "You can have Ron, but I'll be taking Harry."

"You will?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure what was going on, but the more time that passed the more he preferred the idea of hearing a summary from Ginny over actually being there. "But I'm not part of the Council."

Hermione turned a sickly sweet face to Harry. "No," she said as she batted her eyelashes, "you're our fearless Leader, and it didn't stop you from coming to every other meeting." She was smiling, but her eyes were still had the same scolding look they'd had in them when she'd kissed him earlier.

The realization hit him again. He'd kissed Hermione —in front of Ron. He looked at Ron, and saw the smoldering anger in his eyes. A horrifying thought broke into Harry's mind: Had Ron ever kissed Hermione?

Katie shrugged in disappointment. "I see. Have fun protecting the world. Come on, Ron. You've become a bit of a house favorite—"

"I'm going with them," Ron said with finality.

"But you're not..." Katie struggled to understand what was happening. "She said you could go." Katie turned to Hermione and whispered, "But he's not on the Council either."

"He's returning a book to the Library for me," Hermione replied without even looking at Katie.

"What? You just said... Can't he return it tomorrow?"

"No, it's a very dangerous book," Hermione answered quickly.

Katie nodded and pretended as if that answer made perfect sense. "It won't be long, will it?"

"Not if I have any say in it," Hermione answered. Katie accepted the answer and waved as she walked off to the Gryffindor common room.

Harry was liking the idea of this meeting less and less every moment. He didn't think he'd even want to hear the post-meeting summary, even if he got it from Ginny in a mermaid costume. The topic of this meeting seemed to be quite clear to him now, and he didn't want to talk to anyone about it without talking to Ginny first.

"I'll go get the room ready," he told Hermione, hoping he'd be able to speak to Ginny for even a minute before anyone else showed up. Before he could take more than three steps, Hermione had grabbed his arm.

"Nice try, Harry," she said with a frown. "You get to find Daphne and Blaise. The quicker you are, the faster this is over."

Harry turned and walked as quickly as he could through the clumps of students. Several students tried to congratulate him as he passed. He stopped to thank the first pair, but gave up and tried to find either of the Slytherins.

He saw Ron and Hermione walking up the stairs followed by Cho and Luna, ending his chances of talking with Ginny before anyone else did. He turned back to the students, hoping that one of them was Daphne or Blaise. Jumping up on a chair, he scanned their heads looking for his targets. He saw her. Daphne Greengrass was just entering the Great Hall.

He squeezed through the students, trying to catch up to her. When he finally did she looked at him almost as if she'd expected to see him there.

"Hullo Potter," she said lazily. "I hope you're not here for a kiss, because I'm a bit parched right now. If you fetch me some butterbeer and ask politely, you might get a bit of one later."

"Very funny," Harry said, "I've had quite enough—"

"That's what I would have thought," she said, interrupting him. "Now, I can't promise anything so grand as Hannah's performance, but I expect I could at least show up Granger." She ignored Harry's expression as she held up some of her hair. "Straighter hair, you know? Doesn't get in the way."

Harry's eyes narrowed. Why couldn't Hermione have gotten them? Harry lowered his voice, trying to control his annoyance, "I need to find Blaise."

"Oh, you'll never get Blaise to kiss you," she laughed. Then her face became more thoughtful. "Maybe with some of Hannah's hair and some Polyjuice Potion..."

"I need to _talk_ to Blaise. I hear you know where to find him."

Harry saw Daphne's smile fall quickly as she glanced pointedly to her left. Harry looked quickly and saw Theodore Nott looking curiously at the two of them. When he looked back at Daphne, she was laughing again.

"Why do you think Zabini would talk to _you_? Maybe you'd be thinking a bit more clearly if your Beaters weren't so abysmally untalented."

Was she being difficult because of Nott? Harry wondered who else might be watching, and realized that she probably didn't want to appear to be friendly with him after the match. He gave the standard excuse they had worked out before.

"Ernie said he loaned Blaise a book. I need to get it from him."

"Just a book? How urgent can it be? Aren't you spending the rest of the night snogging the Patil twins and all their friends?"

"It's pretty urgent," Harry growled.

"Then I'm sure he'll do his best to make sure you don't get it," Daphne said with a smirk. "You don't honestly expect favors from a Slytherin after that match, do you?"

Harry hung his head in defeat. If she hadn't figured out what was going on by now, he'd never get her to understand. "Fine," he said with a dismissive wave. "Let him know I was looking for him."

"Right. We'll have tea, sometime?" she replied sarcastically, as she toyed with the bright green stone set in the bracelet on her wrist. "Say hello to the Patils for me, will you?"

Harry turned to walk away. It was painfully obvious that he was done talking with her.

"Incidentally, I was curious," Daphne called out, making Harry stop and look at her. "Did you come looking for me before or after Cho Chang?"

Harry gave her an icy stare, which she smiled and blinked back at. Without another word he walked off.

"I was just wondering where I stood, you know?" she called out as he slipped back into the crowd.

Harry walked away feeling as if he'd accomplished nothing. If he would have ignored Hermione, he could have had time to talk to Ginny. He walked as quickly as he could toward the Room of Requirement. The only thing he cared about was making sure Ginny wasn't upset with him. He hadn't wanted the other girls to kiss him. He didn't even know why they did it. It only made everything worse. He should be celebrating and eating sweets with the rest of the Gryffindors, but instead he was walking to a room full of people waiting to berate him for something he didn't mean to do.

He considered ignoring them all and going to the common room. It really wasn't his fault. Why should he have to listen to them tell him it was? They didn't live with the pressure he did. They hadn't faced what he had. He stopped for a moment. It would only be worse if he didn't do it now. He might as well get it over with. He took off again, walking a little faster now.

He heard their voices before he even saw them.

"Zabini?", echoed Hermione's voice. "Where's Daphne?"

"Dunno," he replied casually. "She'll be here soon enough. I doubt she'll want to miss this."

Harry turned the corner and saw the group of them standing outside the door. Hermione was standing by the door with Hannah sitting a few feet away while Ron paced nearby. Luna was sitting against the opposite wall, prodding an inkwell and making the ink change different colors. Cho and Ernie were nearby, watching her with little enthusiasm. Ginny was standing, with her arms crossed over her chest and facing away from all of them.

Blaise Zabini was the first to notice Harry. "Ahh, It's 'The Boy Who Messed Up'." Ginny's head whipped around, sending her bright red hair twirling gracefully through the air. Harry smiled to himself. He'd always liked her hair. Right now, however, was perhaps not her best moment. She was staring contemptuously at Blaise, who seemed only slightly put off by it.

"Harry, where's Daphne?" Hermione asked as if he were some child who'd forgotten his shoes.

"She decided it'd be more fun to crack jokes about me," Harry replied.

"She'll be here," Blaise said quickly.

"How do you know?" Cho asked. Blaise didn't say anything, but Harry noticed him fingering ring on his left hand. It had a green stone.

"Her bracelet," Harry said loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone gave him surprised looks. He simply stared at Blaise. "She's got a bracelet with a green stone on it. You've got a ring with a green stone. That's how you contact each other."

"Nice work, Potter," Daphne said from behind him, "Though we really must teach you about the tower staircase. It took you long enough to get here. For a moment I was afraid you were going to skive off and search for any other girls who wanted to have a go."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"Well you took your bloody time, didn't you? You even stopped for a moment there, as if you sensed some un-kissed girl nearby. You must have found the longest route possible between here and the Great Hall. If I'm sore for the dance tomorrow, I'll be really upset."

"Yes, well I won't really feel terribly sorry after our last conversation," Harry shot back.

"What was I supposed to do?" she replied, "You walk up to me like we're mates in front of Nott and Warrington? You're mental if you think that I want everyone to think I'm your friend. Do you know what my house-mates would say? I'd rather kiss you."

"That's enough," Ginny growled. Harry turned to see Ginny's eyes flashing and her wand out and pointed at Daphne.

"Ginny, STOP!" Hermione shouted. She opened the door. "Everybody inside. Now."

Cho and Ernie gave each other confused glances. "What about Ron? He's not on the Council and I don't think Rule Thirty-Three applies in this case."

Ernie gave Hermione a worried look. "Er— It doesn't, does it?"

Hermione gave them a whithering gaze. "Do you _honestly_ think this has anything to do with the Defense Association Council?"

Cho smirked lightly. "Right. Good enough for me." Ernie and Luna followed her in without saying a word. Hermione waited at the door for Harry and Ginny to enter. Harry had waited hoping to get some other sign of Ginny's mood, but there was nothing. She just glared at Hermione as they entered. Hermione waited patiently until they were both inside.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

Without warning, Ginny's wand was flying through the air to Hermione's hand. Immediately, Ginny turned and scowled at her.

"Give that back," she said through clenched teeth.

"You'll get it back when we're done."

"You have no right to take my wand."

"I don't trust you with it," Hermione said sharply. Ginny stared back incredulously and Hermione ignored her. "I don't trust you with your lips, either, I just haven't found the charm to remove them yet."

"Oh, please," Ginny said in exasperation. "It was just a little kiss! No one would have cared until you made a big deal of it!"

"Wait," Ron called out. "Why do they have to be here?" he said, motioning to Cho, Ernie, Luna and the Slytherins.

"Because we need at least one rational person in the room, if only to see to the bodies, and it looks suspicious if we leave anyone else out of what seems to be a Council meeting," Ginny answered, talking faster than Harry realized she could. "However, I can't think of why _you_ are here."

"I'm here because of Hermione!"

"This is about _me_ and _Harry_, not Hermione."

"He kissed my girl— my date!" Ron shouted.

"I kissed Neville's date, too!" Harry retorted.

"Oh, I haven't even gotten to that," Ron replied in a threatening tone.

"Stuff it, Ron," Ginny said bitterly. "We both know why you're upset so unless you want everyone else to know it, you'd best nose out." This seemed to shut Ron up for the moment, and it left Ernie, Cho and the Slytherins giving each other curious looks. Luna seemed to be watching the scene as if it were the day's third sporting event.

"I don't know why any of us are here," Harry declared. "This is between me and Ginny. It'll be a lot easier without you lot hanging about." Ginny gave Harry a funny look. To his surprise, there wasn't a trace of anger in it.

"Oh, I think there's quite enough between you two," Hermione said flatly. "Or rather, there's not nearly enough between you, and if we all left, it would only get worse."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, blushing slightly at the implication.

"Why'd you have to _kiss_ her, Harry?" Hermione asked in a pained voice.

"She kissed ME!"

That got a reaction from Ginny. Her head twitched at Harry, and her eyes opened wide. "Oh, really? And how did I get your tongue in my mouth, then?"

"Wow," Daphne exclaimed. "I didn't need to know that, did I?"

Luna let out a short laugh. "It's a bit intriguing, isn't it?" Harry glared at both of them, but there wasn't much he could do.

Hermione had simply grimaced at the comment, and continued. "Did either of you see the look on Neville's face? Did you even _think_ of what it looked like to the _crowd_ of people around you?" Harry was speechless. He hadn't really paid much attention to the others. Ginny didn't seem as bothered.

"This is more exciting than the Quidditch matches," Daphne remarked. "Potter made it sound so boring. It would've been worth kissing him to see this."

Ginny gave her an icy stare. "You'll shut up quick, if you're smart," she snapped. "I'm sure Pomfrey would fix whatever I'd do to you, but it wouldn't stop it from _hurting_." Daphne immediately stopped talking though she couldn't hide the smile on her face.

Ginny shook her head and turned back to face the others. "Harry had just saved me from getting pummeled by a Bludger and won the match for us," she said angrily. "I'd have given Peeves a kiss for that!"

"Fine, but that's not how Neville would have seen it. For a second, he was _certain_ that you two were together. I had to make him doubt that."

"So you KISSED him?" Ginny shouted. "You KNOW how I feel about him!"

"Yes, well it wasn't a very good kiss, was it?" Hermione replied.

"It looked pretty good from where I stood," Ron mumbled, earning him nasty looks from both Ginny and Hermione.

"It was just a show, Ron. It wasn't even a real kiss." Ron didn't look convinced, but didn't say anything more. "I was trying to make it look like part of the celebration, and from what I could tell, it worked, not that any of you cared to notice."

"Tell that to Daphne and Zabini over there!" Ginny shouted. "One kiss is a celebration. Barely anyone would notice. Three kisses makes for great gossip, and now everyone is talking about it." She turned and found Hannah standing against the wall, where she'd been only four days before. "I admit I made a mistake. I think it was stupid, but I can see why Hermione thought she was helping. I still can't figure out why _she_ had to kiss him."

"Excuse me?" Hannah said in a surprised voice. "He kissed Neville's date to the Ball, and then Ron's date to the Ball. The only person he missed was _his_ date. Or did you forget that _I'm_ the one that everyone expects him to kiss?"

"Yes, and you did a bang up job of it, didn't you?" Ginny answered with a bitter tone. "You looked pretty pleased with yourself afterward. You weren't a little jealous, were you?"

"I'm not jealous," Hannah replied evenly as if she were controlling her anger, "but that was as close as I'll get to having a normal date tomorrow, since I'm stuck trying to cover up this mess you've made. And since I am his real date, I had to put on at least as much of a show as you did."

"A show?" Ginny said with disbelief. "Just an act, right?" She took a few steps toward Harry and looked into his eyes. "Was it just an act, Harry?" There was a challenging look in her eyes. "Was it as shallow and empty as Hermione's kiss? Did it feel like she meant it?"

Harry didn't know what to say. It hadn't felt like an act. It had felt pretty real. Behind Ginny, Harry could see the pleading look in Hermione's eyes. She must have known the truth. Her expression was clear about what she wanted him to do: _Lie_.

"No, it felt like an act," Harry said, trying to make himself believe it. Ginny paused, then smiled a little as her posture relaxed noticeably.

"Fine," she said as she turned and faced Hannah. "I'm sorry I said those things. If Harry's willing to lie to my face to protect you, then maybe I'm overreacting." Her head dropped a little. "Maybe I'm the one who's jealous."

"If it matters," Blaise interrupted, "this whole business has become quite the joke around the school right now, but I haven't heard anyone taking it very seriously. The worst I've heard are people talking about Potter kissing Weasley's sister and date on the same day. The best joke so far is about Ron being good at protecting goal hoops, but dreadful at protecting his women."

"Thanks for that," Ron said acidly. "I'm glad I didn't have to wait to hear that."

Zabini ignored him. "We could expect some rumors about Ron being really hacked off at Harry."

"Well, they wouldn't be rumors, would they?" growled Ron.

"Get over it, Ron," Hermione scolded him. "It's no good if we go through all this trouble just to have everyone think that you and Harry got in some huge row. We're trying to keep that from happening."

"So I have to pretend to be happy about this?"

"No, you have to actually _be_ happy about this."

"I don't think that's possible," Ron said firmly.

"Oh, you say that now, but in an hour, the two of you will be drinking butterbeer and laughing over the picture Colin got of Draco after he caught the Snitch."

Ron didn't respond, and Harry thought he caught a faint glimmer of hopeful joy in his eyes.

As the tempers around the room slowly cooled, the others gathered enough courage to start asking some questions. Luna couldn't have known about Harry and Ginny, but she'd barely reacted to the news. Ernie MacMillan had cautiously complained about Ginny's spot on the Council being some form of favoritism, or giving her more power than the other members.

This was soundly put down by the rest of the Council, and Ernie didn't seem to be at all upset about it. Harry got the impression that he was doing out out of some feeling of duty rather than actual concern.

Ron, however, still seemed angry, though he seemed to relax a little at the confirmation that Harry and Ginny's secret had been kept from many people other than him. He pressed the idea of telling Neville again.

"You're mental." Daphne stated as she stared at him. "You think the night before the Ball is the best time to tell him his date has been snogging one of his friends?"

"It was just a little kiss!" Ginny shouted. "A couple of seconds at most."

"You didn't see it from where I was standing," Daphne returned. "I'm not as naive as most, and I know that a kiss like that takes familiarity and _practice_. If I had to wager, I'd say it wasn't the first time it's happened."

Ginny looked scandalized, but didn't argue. She turned and sat down next to Hannah. "It's so unfair," she pouted. "I get blamed for kissing him too well, but I get interrupted whenever I try."

Hannah leaned closer at Ginny. "It's worth trying harder," she said quietly, but not quiet enough to keep Ron and Harry from hearing. Harry felt his face reddening, and Ron just glared at Hannah. She shrugged and ignored him.

"Pretty good, you think?" Ginny asked with a giggle.

"Better than most, I'd say," Hannah answered with a smile.

"Could you stop that?" Ron complained. "They don't need any encouragement. They shouldn't have even started this."

"Oh, shut up. You're just jealous," Hannah replied. Ron shot a look at her, but didn't say anything more.

"Are we done, now?" Cho asked. "Everyone's gotten rid of their anger and frustration?" Everyone looked around, nodding. "Excellent. Let's go then. I have a victory celebration to attend."

Everyone filed out of the Room of Requirement, and split up silently. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny walked silently to Gryffindor Tower. It was a bit confusing, but it didn't seem that Ginny was upset with Harry at all. If anything, she seemed as if she was happy with him.

Perhaps he could find some time to try and make Hermione explain it to him. Everything he'd ever heard had told him that Ginny should have been upset that he'd kissed two other girls, and yet she was walking next to him with a genuinely happy smile.

Harry still hadn't figured out exactly why by time they'd reached the Fat Lady. Hermione stopped in front of her to say the password.

"You three can go in first. Everyone will just be disappointed if I'm the first one through."

She said the password, and stepped aside as the portrait opened and the three Quidditch players stepped into the common room. There was a loud cheer as they entered and a host of happy students walked forward to congratulate them.

Most everyone seemed to have temporarily forgotten their nervousness around Harry. A trio of third years who had been avoiding him came up and asked him to autograph some photos for them. Even Neville congratulated him, though Harry later thought it had only been an excuse to stand with Ginny, who'd barely left Harry's side.

The photos Colin had taken of Draco were everything that Hermione had claimed they would be, and worked just as well as she'd expected. There had been some suspicious looks, but they all disappeared as Ron and Harry sat together on the couch by the fire, laughing and joking about the sour look on Draco's face.

That is how it was when the common room slowly emptied as the students went to supper in the Great Hall. Whatever bad feeling Harry had about the day didn't seem to be anything to worry about. Students were still making jokes about him, and he'd been quietly admonished by McGonagall for the 'improper celebration', but it had ended at that. Neville wasn't really talking to him, but that was because he spent most of his time being friendly to Ginny and trying to remind everyone that while Harry had helped, it had been Ginny who scored the winning goal.

The best part of the entire night was the look on Draco Malfoy's face, when he wasn't hiding it from everyone. Malfoy was sitting at the end of the Slytherin table, sitting with Crabbe and Goyle. Theodore Nott was the next closest student, but even he seemed unwelcome in Malfoy's midst. None of the rest of the Slytherin team was talking to him. He kept his head down, and seemed to be barely eating. Harry almost would have felt bad for him, if he hadn't spent the last five years being a total git.

"It was priceless," Colin explained to the Gryffindor team. "Harry here gets hit with the first Bludger, and then flies off in the wrong direction. We all thought he'd been hit a bit too hard, you know? Thought the match was over. Then Hermione said that Ginny had the Quaffle and we watched as Harry got slammed by the second Bludger. But Draco, he was just following the Snitch, right, because he doesn't want a tie."

"He should have taken the tie," a seventh year said.

"I wouldn't have," Katie replied. "I'd have skinned Harry if he'd taken a tie when the other team barely had one Chaser."

"Anyway," Colin continued, "The git's just following it, and when Harry got hit, Ginny tosses the Quaffle past Bletchley and scores." Colin laughed and tossed a photo onto the table. "You can see it in his face here. All he hears is cheering and some groans, and he figures it must be one of his mates scoring. He didn't even know Ginny had the Quaffle, so he darts forward and grabs the Snitch. Hooch called the game, and Malfoy almost fell off his broom when he saw the score."

Colin tossed out another photo. It was a closeup of Malfoy sitting on his Nimbus 2001. He hand was crushing the Snitch, and his face was contorted into an enraged scowl.

"Well," Harry laughed, "at least he can finally say he got the Snitch before me." Ron laughed and pointed to Malfoy, who was staring malevolently at the Gryffindor table.

"Funny. He doesn't look like he's too happy about that."

"Yeah," agreed Harry, "I don't think he's my friend anymore."

"Maybe if he gets angry enough, he'll be the next one who's attacked." Ron said in a low voice. Hermione made disgusted noise. Ron scoffed at her. "Oh sorry, I didn't know you two were so close. You can't tell me you'd be upset if he were put in the Hospital Wing for a couple days."

Hermione struggled to find a way to respond. "It's not... Well... That's not the point!" she finally said.

The students eventually returned to their common rooms. Most of them remained there to continue the celebration and talk about tomorrow's festivities. Harry and Ron started a game of chess in one corner of the room. Hermione reluctantly joined them out of boredom, followed by Ginny and Neville.

As one of Ron's knights tossed Harry's second rook to the floor, Harry heard the familiar creak as the portrait opened. No one watching the chess match looked up to see who it was until the shrill ringing of the bell Flitwick had helped them install filled the common room.

There was a brief moment of complete silence as everyone took a moment to realize what the sound meant. It became more obvious as the sound of heavy, hard soled boots on stone echoed off the walls of the tower.

"Death Eaters!" one of the students shouted.

"_Stupefy!_"

Harry and Ron were already jumping to their feet, dumping the chess board on the floor, when they saw the red beam shoot across the room toward the portrait hole. The students were defending themselves.

The wizard at the door dodged the spell easily and paused to turn and look at the ringing bell. He was wearing a heavy brown traveling cloak with a deep hood and more than one worn patches in the shoulders. Underneath the cloak were black robes. His face was completely hidden by the hood. Harry didn't spend any more time looking at him, and pulled his wand.

"_Fractus!_" Ron shouted from his spot next to Harry. Hermione and Ginny were pulling their wands.

The wizard flipped his wand quickly, and a purple shield with a dragon on it appeared on his left arm. Ron's spell hit it with the sound of stone on metal.

"_Impedimentia!_" Ginny shouted, but it was blocked just as easily.

As Hermione leveled her wand, Harry ran across the tower, hoping to make it harder for the Death Eater to stop their attacks. Other students were firing minor hexes at him while the younger students ran for the stairs.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Hermione shouted. It was obvious that the intruder wasn't expecting such a simple tactic, and before he could do anything to protect himself, his wand was sailing toward Ron and Hermione. Harry raised his wand.

"_Incarcerous!_"

Thick ropes shot out of his wand and quickly wound around the cloaked man. He dropped his shield and it broke into a million sparkling pinpoints of light as it hit the ground. He, himself, remained standing and tied tightly as he broke out into a loud, almost joyful laugh.

"Well done, Potter!" he shouted as he caught his breath. "Well done indeed." Recognizing the voice almost immediately, Harry strode forward and pulled back the hood, revealing the beaming face of Lazlo Petrov.

"Why did you attack us?" Harry demanded.

"Attack you?" he laughed. "I merely walked through the door and became the target of every student who had a wand ready."

"But the bell..." Harry said as he turned to look at it. It was still ringing shrilly.

"A fine piece of magic," Lazlo said. "Simplistic, to be certain, but effective. No Death Eater would ever consider such simple measures to be worth checking for." He winced as he looked at it. "I must admit, it is a bit... grating on the mind. Would you mind?"

"Er..." Harry mumbled as he looked at Hermione. "I don't think I actually know how to turn it off."

"If you would allow me," Lazlo said as he looked at the ropes.

"_Difindo!_" Hermione said from behind him. The ropes split down the center and the Confederation wizard breathed deeply as they fell to the ground.

"As I said, quite effective," he explained as he walked over to the bell, "but simplistic as well." With a flourish, he pulled his cloak off and draped it across the bell, silencing it.

Hermione still looked at him skeptically. "If it knew you were an intruder, how did you get past the Fat Lady?"

"Now that painting is a fine piece of charm work," Lazlo said as he searched for a nice chair. Some students were creeping down from the stairs, and the others seemed to be relaxing but keeping their distance. As the older wizard chose a large fluffy chair to sit in, he flashed a bright smile. "It was the work of my mentor, and not at all unknown to me. I don't doubt she will be quite unhappy with me, but she let me in nonetheless."

Harry cautiously took a seat on a nearby couch. Ginny and Hermione sat on either side of him, earning them another smile from the Confederation wizard. Ron preferred to hover behind them, still seemingly a little put off by the interruption.

"Come down," Lazlo called to the rest of the students. "I am deeply sorry for the disturbance. I am a member of the International Confederation of Wizards, and I'm afraid that we seldom announce our intentions before they happen. I simply wished to congratulate your Quidditch team on their entertaining win today."

He formally shook Katie's hand and bowed his head. "I am afraid that I will not be staying any longer. There are matters which require my attention, and I have already stayed longer than I had planned. I remained here only to see the match and I was not disappointed in the least."

Harry seemed a bit confused. That was what Najib Tefarra had told him the night of the dueling demonstration, but it hadn't made all that much sense then either. Harry asked him why the match was so interesting.

"I must admit that I have grown fond of Quidditch, and Seekers in particular. I can now say that I have met a number of truly excellent Seekers. I have spoken with Viktor Krum on a number of occasions—" Harry saw Ron tense out of the corner of his eye "—and I have met a former Hogwarts Seeker named Charlie Weasley." Harry turned to see both Ron and Ginny beaming with pride.

"Both have told me that you were very much worth seeing, and I must now agree with them." A number of students were gathering around, but Lazlo ignored them and looked directly at Harry.

"I believe you will become a truly great Seeker, Harry Potter, if indeed you are not yet considered so. Albus has agreed to send me word on your progress. I wish you good luck in all your upcoming matches, for however many years that may be." It was obvious that Lazlo was talking about more than just the Quidditch Cup. "I truly hope that you are as successful as I see that you can be, and I look forward to the day when your season is complete and I am able to return to celebrate with you."

Harry accepted the compliment and wishes graciously and thanked Lazlo for coming to the common room. Lazlo graciously returned the thanks, and shifted to lean close to Harry.

"There is another matter I feel I should mention," he said in a lower voice. "Two years ago, I spent four months with Charlie Weasley while he taught me about his work with dragons. During that time, he shared a good deal of wisdom with me. Of particular interest was the raising of adolescent dragons."

Harry stared at him strangely, wondering how this was supposed to interest him. Lazlo simply smiled and continued. "He taught me that it was dangerous for any one wizard to raise more than one dragon at a time. The dragons themselves do not require constant attention, but it seems that they dislike the smell of other dragons on their handlers. Were he here, I'm certain he would warn you, that should you ever decide to spend time around dragons, it would be best if you would limit yourself to one at a time."

Harry heard Hermione snort next to him, and Ginny had looked away and covered her mouth with her hand. "I, er... I wouldn't dream of ever trying to raise more than one dragon," Harry whispered back, fully understanding the meaning of the exchange.

"Wouldn't you?" Lazlo said with a thoughtful look. "And how would you choose which one to tend?"

"Well..." Harry mumbled as quietly as he could. "I've always liked the color red. I'd pick a red one."

Lazlo smiled. "A fine choice. The Chinese Fireball makes a fine dragon. Very powerful and fiercely loyal, though they can be somewhat more difficult to control. They are independent creatures, to be certain. They often teach their handlers more than they themselves are taught." Harry simply smiled and nodded.

Lazlo seemed pleased with the conversation and stood up to leave. He bowed to the rest of the Gryffindors and shook Harry's hand. Without saying anything more, he pulled his cloak from the table and wrapped it around himself. The bell's shrill ringing resumed for only a few seconds until he disappeared through the portrait hole.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

For my rather dilligent reviewers:

From Tronishere:

_Harry/Ginny_: You've got the right idea about them. I've never been a big fan of angst.

_Harry's got enough problems without adding more_: Err... right. I would... uh... never add... meaningless complications to Harry's life.

_Harry went easy on Ginny_: I meant it to seem more like Harry was a bit overconfident and cautious about how he won. Sure he could have won, but no one wants to win a fight with their girlfriend by punching her in the face. At least, no one respectable.

_Guessed most of it_: That's unfortunate. I suppose there weren't so many mysteries there. I've still got my one and only true mystery. I can only hope that everyone isn't sitting around guessing it already.

_Too Many Secrets_: Well, it wasn't really a secret for long. Lots of people were guessing, but they were all supportive. As for Neville... uh... welll. I did say it was a suspense story.

_Things getting worse for Harry_: As you can see, I was not joking about Hermione. And as for your pleading, I'll have to remind you that I'm not actually writing thousands of words a day. I wrote this over the course of about fourteen months. It's been refined several times, and I've rewritten some sections as many as five or six times. While I truly am sympathetic, it's a little late for pleading. More on this later

_Un-Fickle Harry and Ginny_: Neither Harry nor Ginny seem the type to easily change their minds about a person. I never entertained the idea of having them do so. And yet, their relationship has been at the center of a number of plot "twists" since the very beginning.

From LunarExcalibur:

_Reviews_: Thanks for trying to review every chapter. Hopefully you've figured out that I'm really not writing these all right now. I'm just doing final edits. It really doesn't take me long. I did note the one problem you pointed out, and I'll be fixing that in the next edition. Also, it was a bit amusing on my end. I got a series of mostly cheerful reviews, and then your review of Chapter 32 and your declaration of your desire for Ron's gruesome death.

_Ron should die_: I'm not sure why you're so angry with Ron. Is it his protective nature toward his sister? Ron's not all that bad. He's still Harry's friend. It'll be alright, I swear.

Missing Voldemort: Oh, don't worry. Voldemort will be making more appearances. It does seem odd that you want to both see more of Voldemort, and fewer people mistreating Harry. You don't honestly expect me to have Voldemort be nice to Harry, do you? We'll see I guess. Maybe even tonight, if you're lucky.

A Note For Clarity:

I have decided that now is a good time to make a note to anyone still reading this story. As I've said again and again, this is a Suspense story with a bit of an action feel to it on occasion. It's rated M (or R if you think that way). 'M' means it has coarse language, sexual situations, or intense violence. Now, I find it much more fun and interesting to obscure away any swearing (see Hermione's duel). It's not a Romance, I'm not dwelling on relationships, and to be completely honest, no one really has time for any sexual situations. Those of you adept at logical exclusion can see where I'm going.

When writing this story, I tried to develop the plot to follow the same sort of feeling as the start of a roller coaster ride. In case you couldn't tell, 'Revelations' (Chapter 32) was designed to be the apex. It's a turning point, and the point at which Harry first gets a good look at what he's into. For those who like the coaster metaphor, we're off the chain, but we haven't started dropping yet.

I'm terribly thankful for all the appreciation I've been shown. In a way, I find it encouraging, since I had only hoped that people would feel that emotion while reading my story. I don't think I could ask for any better praise than that. And yet I am worried. See, the story is finished. It has been for about a month now. If I were writing this as you all read it, I would be afraid that your desires and opinions would have colored my plans for the rest of the story.

Luckily for me, it is beyond changing now. The best I can do is try to explain my thoughts and reasons and hope I don't get lynched if the story does something that you all don't like. I honestly believe that everyone will be able to enjoy the story if they want to, though I can foresee the need for some explanation.For now, simply ponder this:

After writing most of this story, I went back and inserted the first chapter, feeling that it was an appropriate way to introduce the story. In that chapter, Harry watches as an undefined number of innocent people plummet to their deaths while blaming him. Later, he watches as Voldemort tortures and kills an entire family for the sole reason of inciting Harry to speak with him. There are repeated mentions of how poorly Harry is sleeping, and occasional references to screaming in his dreams.

If you're feeling bad for Harry because he is being treated unfairly by the I.C.W., then you'd best prepare yourself. This story is, after all, patterned around what I believe to be an optimal course of action for Voldemort.

So, there it is. Just something to keep in mind.


	34. The Ball

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 34 - The Ball**

* * *

Harry awoke the day of the Ball feeling more refreshed than he had in quite a while. Ron was already up and walking about the room searching for his shoes. Harry had slept in longer than he expected, but he couldn't immediately think of any reason why that might be bad. 

The morning and afternoon were destined to be uneventful. Many of the students had chosen to sleep in as well, especially after the celebrations the night before. Harry lounged about with his friends, unwilling to go outside into the frigid winds.

After lunch, there was even less for him to do. Harry and Ron sat around the common room, lazily watching a group of younger students teaching their rats to play a game similar to football. It wasn't thrilling, but it did pass the time.

Hermione, along with almost all the rest of the girls in fourth year and higher had disappeared shortly after lunch, leaving the Gryffindor common room, and most of the castle itself, with an eerie feeling of silence and desertion.

The early dinner that night had a similar feeling, though there were a decent number of girls there with their hair pinned up on their heads or wrapped around shimmering cylinders. None of the Gryffindor girls had come down, and when when Harry and Ron returned to the common room, they discovered why.

As they walked in, Ginny was walking down the steps from the girls dormitory. She was wearing a set of long black robes, which were obviously not what she was planning on wearing to the Ball. However, her hair fell in a smooth, gleaming sheet down her back and her eyes seemed to have an unnatural sparkle in them.

She froze when she saw Harry. A small smile spread across her face as she saw his reaction. She hopped down the last of the stairs.

"Are they finished serving dinner already?" she asked as she ran lightly to the portrait hole.

"Well, we are back here," Ron replied unenthusiastically. "You should have come down earlier. You've missed it completely."

"Oh, I wasn't planning on it," Ginny said dismissively. "It's just a bit later than I thought." She pushed open the portrait and stepped through.

"Where are you going, then?" Ron called out before the hole closed.

Ginny's head poked back in, making her hair sway gracefully and picking up coppery accents off the torches. "Nicking food from the kitchen, of course," she said with bright smile. Her head disappeared and the portrait closed behind her.

Ron sat down heavily on a nearby couch. "Mental, the lot of them," he muttered. "How long can it take to get ready for some ruddy ball?"

Harry shrugged. "Quite a while, it seems. I guess I've never tried doing anything with my hair. Maybe it really does take—" Harry looked at the clock "—er...four hours."

"Your hair's a lost cause, mate," Ron joked. "A good ten minutes is too much time to waste on it."

Ginny returned to the common room a few minutes later, carrying a single basket. She gave both of them warning looks as she reminded them that there wasn't much time before they were supposed to be in the Great Hall. Without another word, she bounded up the stairs leaving Ron and Harry sitting with the few boys who were still procrastinating like they were.

Eventually they gave in and went up to their dormitory to clean up and dress for the Ball. For once, Ron felt pride in his clothes, and he took longer than usual to make sure the dress robes fit just right. Harry focused on his hair instead, hoping to get it to lay flat, but compromising instead on simply having it lay in a casual manner that suggested he might have intended it to look that way.

It didn't take them long before they deemed themselves ready. Together with Neville and Seamus, they walked down to the common room where a number of boys were waiting for their dates or their friends to finish getting ready. The four of them claimed a grouping of soft chairs, with Ron taking one which faced the stairs to the girls dormitory.

As they waited, Harry noticed Ron repeatedly tugging on and smoothing his robes, trying to get them to look better. He was obviously nervous, and it took a bit of concentration for Harry to keep from laughing.

It was almost too much when Harry looked up to see Ron staring over his shoulder at the stairway. Harry heard the soft clicking of shoes approaching and turned to see Hermione walking toward them. She looked like an older version of the Hermione from the Triwizard Tournament Ball. Harry tried to ask Ron if he wanted to leave, but Ron wasn't paying attention. Instead, he was staring at Hermione, who seemed to be fighting her own embarrassment.

"Well, we should be going," Hermione said quickly, trying to cover the color rising in her face.

"Aren't we waiting for Ginny?" Harry asked. Seamus had asked a girl from Ravenclaw, so he would be meeting his date outside the Great Hall like Harry.

"No, Harry," Hermione said firmly. "I'm sure Seamus will keep Neville company. Hannah is probably already waiting for you."

Reluctantly, Harry followed Ron and Hermione as they walked down to the Great Hall. When they reached the foot of the stairs in the Entrance Hall, Hannah was no where to be seen. For a moment, Harry panicked. What if something had happened to her?

"Relax, Harry," Hermione said. "I didn't expect her here. I just didn't think it would look right for us to wait for _someone else's date_," She put special emphasis on the last three words. Harry felt relieved but a little annoyed at her behavior.

He took up his designated position in front of a large painting of Clive the Clever, a wizard who helped develop the first form of Veritaserum. Ron and Hermione stood near him. Hermione looked surprisingly radiant, and Ron kept switching between looking impatient and staring at her. Harry tried to tell them he could wait alone, but Hermione gave him a brilliant smile.

"We'll stay, I think," she said in a firm voice. "No one will bother you if we're here."

Harry didn't know why their presence would suddenly stop people from bothering him after five years of it failing completely, but he wasn't in a mood to argue about it either. He stomach felt tense, and his head was starting to ache. He unconsciously rubbed his forehead.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Ron said. "Is something happening? Did you see something?"

"No," answered Harry with a sigh. "I'm just nervous, I think." Ron nodded and seemed to relax, but his reaction had made Harry think. How certain was he that it truly was only nerves. There were still loads of Aurors around. Surely they'd see any danger before Harry did.

Still, the doubt grew in his mind. The I.C.W. wouldn't be here for much longer, and there hadn't been a single incident. When Ron and Hermione weren't looking, he tried to close his eyes and see if there was anything he could sense. He saw nothing, but felt immediately dizzy and his head throbbed.

"You're certain you're alright, Harry?" Hermione asked when he opened his eyes again.

"Yeah, it's just a bit of a headache, honestly. I haven't felt anything all day."

"Drink this, then," Hermione said as she handed him a small vial of purple liquid from a pocket Harry didn't realize she had. Harry shrugged and downed the liquid in a single gulp. Almost immediately he felt his head clearing and the pain disappearing. He thanked her and pocketed the empty vial.

"What was that? A pain relief potion?" Ron asked Hermione. She nodded reluctantly. "You have one of these with you all the time, do you?" he continued. "What did you think you'd need it for?"

"Relax, Ron. We made them for tonight. It was Ginny's idea."

"Right. That explains it all, doesn't it?" Ron replied sarcastically.

Hermione tried explaining how several of the girls had chosen to wear some horribly uncomfortable shoes (which looked smashing, according to them) and that the potions would help them ignore the pain. Harry and Ron both looked to Hermione's feet, where she was wearing the same shoes she normally did, only charmed to look shiny and new and in the same deep blue as her robes.

"How uncomfortable could they be?" Ron asked. "You wear them almost every day."

"Well, they are, but it's not like I dance in them..." Hermione answered slowly. "I didn't need the potion, but... well... It was just a precaution. Ginny's got four of them. I just didn't want to ruin— It doesn't matter. It helped Harry, didn't it?"

Ron frowned and looked from Harry back to Hermione. "How many more do you have in there?" Hermione stared back at him. Harry grimaced and turned away. He tried not to listen as his friends inched dangerously closer to fighting only minutes before the Ball.

As he searched for something else to pay attention to, his eyes stopped at the top of the stairs. Ginny was slowly walking down with Neville, making even his careful steps look clumsy in comparison.

Harry recognized the robes right away. He'd seen them in the Mirror the day Fred and George had bought them, though the effect was quite a bit less dramatic then. Hanging from her neck was the necklace he'd given her for Christmas. It was shining brilliantly and casting warm highlights on her face and hair. Harry smiled, and unconsciously reached for his own necklace.

As she walked down the stairs, Harry couldn't take his eyes off her. As she reached the foot of the stairs, Harry realized that Ron and Hermione had stopped bickering. Harry tore his eyes away from Ginny to see the warning glare Hermione was giving him.

Neville and Ginny walked over toward Ron, Hermione and Harry. Neville had a giddy smile on his face, and Ginny's arm interlocked with his. He looked proud and confident, and the students in the Entrance Hall were staring at him as much as Ginny. He'd managed to look stately and almost impressive. It wasn't hard to understand why. For perhaps the first time in his life, other people were going to wish they were him.

"Hello, Harry," Ginny greeted him warmly. Neville was still smiling, but there was something off about him. Harry recognized it a moment later. Neville was still quite nervous, despite his proud, controlled appearance, and he didn't seem at all comfortable now that he was around other people.

"We should... you know... go find a table," he told Ginny as he started to pull her toward the door.

Ginny resisted and instead tugged him over toward Harry. "Don't worry about that, Neville," she said with a bright smile. "Katie's already handled that. She reserved one for the whole Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Anyway, I said I'd meet Hannah. We're going to sit together. She's more fun than Hermione." Hermione returned a playful scowl.

Ginny pulled Neville over toward the others so that they were standing to Harry's right, facing Ron and Hermione. She complimented Hermione on her dress and hair, and they started talking about the rest of the people around them, commenting on the different robes, and who everyone had brought as a date. Harry scanned the hall, watching for Hannah.

The Entrance Hall was teaming with activity. Aurors and other security wizards were walking from the Great Hall and the front doors and back. Harry counted a number of professors moving about between clumps of students. Most of them were headed into the Great Hall for the start of the Ball. One of them, however, paused and took notice of Harry and his friends.

"Good evening, Miss Granger," Madam Pince said as she stopped in front of the group of them. "You do look quite stunning tonight. I'm sure whatever boy you're waiting for will be quite pleased."

"Thank you, Madam Pince," Hermione replied. "I'm actually with Ron," she said with a nod.

"Ahh. Of course you are," Pince said with a warm smile. "I'm glad to hear it. I couldn't imagine the thought of you going to the Ball alone. I cannot remember another student who I've been happier to see in my library, that is, when you're not shouting with these two," she said, giving both Ron and Harry disapproving looks. "You really should come by more often. It's been some time, hasn't it?"

Hermione frowned. "I... er... I've been busy, I guess."

"Yes, yes. I suppose you have," Pince said in a somber tone. "I'm terribly sorry. Tonight is for celebration. I'm sure you could all do with a bit of that. You see that Potter here has fun." She turned and gave Harry an uncharacteristically warm smile. "I'll assume your date is simply late, and that you haven't forgotten to find one?"

"I'm sure she's here somewhere," Harry said as he took a moment to search the passing students again.

"Excuse me, Potter, but what is that about your neck?" Pince asked. Harry looked down to see the necklace Ginny gave him poking out over his collar. Pince was eying it warily. "That is a strange talisman. I would hardly expect to see it on you, Mr. Potter."

"Oh, well— er... It's nothing really. It's just something I picked up at—"

"Why do you have a snake talisman, Harry?" Neville asked. "Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?"

"It's nothing, honestly. It's just a—"

"May I, Mr. Potter?" Pince asked with her hand held out. Harry paused for a moment. He'd rather no one see it at all, but he didn't want anyone to complain about it either, so he shrugged and carefully removed the chain and handed it to Madam Pince.

She looked at it for a moment, then pulled out her wand and traced the tip across the snake pendant. After a minute and about six different spells, she handed it back to him with a very serious look on her face.

"You really must speak to the Headmaster about that, Potter," she said. Harry stared back at her in surprise. Pince merely frowned and put her wand away. "Whatever you think that is, you've been lied to. It is little more than cheap metal and polished glass. There are absolutely no enchantments at all upon it."

"Oh," Harry replied, feeling relieved. "Right. I knew that. It's just a necklace."

"You just keep a snake on a chain around your neck?" Neville asked.

"Now, now, Mr. Longbottom," Pince admonished him. "There is nothing wrong with Mr. Potter's choice in adornment, despite its... mundane nature. I simply expected something of higher quality, more like the lovely necklace you gave Miss Weasley."

Neville looked to Ginny, and then back at Madam Pince. "I... er... I didn't buy her that."

"Didn't you?" Madam Pince remarked. "Where did you obtain such a fine jewel, Miss Weasley? I cannot imagine they are easy to obtain. Or cheap."

"My brothers bought it for me," Ginny explained without hesitation. "I did them a bit of a favor this fall, and they figured I'd like it."

Pince stared suspiciously at Ginny. "That must have been quite a favor. Knowing their reputation, I think it's best if I leave you now, before I learn anything more about this favor. Good evening, to all of you, and please, do try and enjoy yourselves."

"Don't see her out of the library much," Ron mumbled as Pince walked toward the Great Hall.

"She's very busy," Hermione replied, "and really rather nice when she doesn't have to run about picking up books students left lying about, or telling them to keep quiet."

"Which is almost never," Ron mumbled. Hermione simply shook her head and changed the subject.

"I really thought Hannah would've been here by now. I wonder if she's forgotten and gone to wait for you by the Fat Lady."

"Maybe she's stood you up," Ron suggested with a chuckle.

"After yesterday?" Neville said incredulously. "Not bloody likely."

He'd found her before he realized it. She was wearing simple, elegant black robes with silver trim, and she was quickly making her way down the stairs with a pair of her friends behind her. Her hair was was swirled up on top of her head and her face seemed to glow faintly. She saw Harry and flashed a warm smile.

Harry couldn't help but stare as she walked toward him. She was beautiful. It wasn't like she was normally unattractive, but she'd gone out of her way to be impressive that night. She began blushing as she walked up to the Gryffindors, knowing that they were all staring at her.

"Hello, Hannah," Ginny greeted her. "You look... really good tonight," adding in a more strained voice, "I see Harry agrees." Harry's smile dropped and his eyes locked onto Ginny's face. She was forcing herself to smile.

"Oh! We're in your way," Ginny said sweetly, still staring at Harry. "Of course you'll want to stand by Harry." Ginny tugged on Neville's arm and started walking toward Ron and Hermione.

Harry turned to smile at Hannah who looked genuinely happy. He tried to think of something nice to say, something that normal people said to their dates. "Hello, Hannah," he started, "I think you look really nice. Those robes are really great, and I like—OWW!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Harry," Ginny apologized sweetly. "Was that your foot?"

Harry groaned in pain. Ginny had dug her heel into the toe of his shoes as she passed, making pain explode through his foot.

"Yes!" Harry gasped through the pain. Luckily, it was quickly ebbing, probably due to the potion Hermione had given him earlier.

"Hey, be careful," Hannah said as she walked up next to Harry and put an arm around his shoulders. "He needs both of those to dance."

"You're joking, right?" Neville laughed. "Harry's a dreadful dancer. Everyone knows that. Ginny did you a favor."

"Actually, he dances quite well," Hannah said in his defense.

"Since when?"

"Since I spent an evening dancing with him in the Room of Requirement," Hannah answered with a clever smile.

"You what?" Ginny exclaimed, looking outraged.

"You spent a night dancing with him? Alone?" Neville said.

"Yes," answered Hannah, looking quite satisfied with herself. "We had music and stars and candlelight. It was quite romantic, really."

"What a great idea," Ginny said. "I wish I would have thought of that." The corners of her mouth twitched, as if she were fighting back a smile.

"Right. If anyone else would have tried it, they'd end up with a week of detention from Filch," Neville added with a trace of bitterness. Harry gave him a strange look.

"Why's that?" Harry asked as he looked between Neville and Hannah, who seemed surprised at Neville's comment. "I thought Filch hated everyone."

"It's not her. It's because she's with _you_," Neville said testily. "You always get away with things that no one else would, you get everything you want, and it's always the best."

"What are you talking about Neville?" Harry said after he recovered from the shock of hearing Neville's tone. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Is there a problem, Mr. Longbottom?"

Everyone turned to look at Professor McGonagall who had silently stepped up behind Neville and Ginny. Harry answered first.

"No, Professor. We were just—"

"Then perhaps you could be so kind as to keep your voices down," she reprimanded them. "Miss Weasley, perhaps now would be a good time for you to find your table." McGonagall's face was stern, and it was fairly obvious that this was an order. Ginny frowned and walked off, leading Neville into the Great Hall.

"Mr. Potter, may I have a word with you?"

Harry's lips tightened into a thin line. Ron and Hermione gave him a sympathetic look before turning to leave. Hannah turned to follow them reluctantly.

"You may stay, Miss Abbot," added McGonagall, surprising Hannah. Slowly she walked back over to where Harry stood. He noticed her face looking a little more pale than she had been, oddly enhancing the color of her lips and eyes.

Harry prepared himself to be lectured about causing problems, but it never happened. Instead, McGonagall started quickly explaining where the professors and Aurors were supposed to be throughout the Ball. The Aurors would mostly be patrolling the castle while a only a pair of them would be watching the Great Hall with at least four professors.

"Several members of the Confederation will be there as well," McGonagall assured him. "The students will be quite safe. Miss Goldwater will be in her common room, and Professor Flitwick will keep an eye on her. Nonetheless should you... see anything, or notice anything happening around the castle, please let us know." McGonagall started to walk off, but stopped. "Is something wrong, Miss Abbot?"

"Well, Professor, I—" Hannah paused to look at Harry, then her shoes. "I was looking forward to dancing."

"With Potter?" McGonagall asked, as if it were the silliest idea in the world.

"Well... Yes. I thought we'd be dancing in the Great Hall, like the rest of them."

"And I assure you, you will be in the Great Hall," McGonagall said, her voice still heavy with surprise. "I will leave the choice of dance partner up to your own wisdom, but Harry will certainly be at the Ball."

Hannah's eyes narrowed as she looked from McGonagall to Harry. "How's he supposed to know what's going on around the castle? And what's special about Claire Goldwater?" Harry felt a pang of anxiety. Of course Hannah wouldn't know either of those things. He'd barely told anyone else about the Map, and only Ginny knew about Claire. McGonagall gave him a questioning look which he immediately understood.

He turned to Hannah and hooked her arm around his as he led her toward the Great Hall. "I have some things to explain to you."

* * *

"You've had something like that for this long and you haven't told the rest of us?" Hannah asked angrily after Harry told her about the Map. 

She'd waited patiently through the start of the Ball, which had been mostly boring as the Confederation members introduced themselves, and a number of other people made an assortment of short speeches. She even seemed enjoy herself through the first dance, though it had been obvious that she wouldn't wait much longer for an explanation.

Shortly after the first dance, they'd slipped off to a quiet corner. Harry sat with his back to the wall, and watched as Ron and Hermione took turns giving him curious looks. Ginny's expression was somewhat more difficult to decipher, but Harry didn't think it seemed as if she were upset that they were talking.

He'd explained to her about the Map, and where it had come from. He even pulled it out of his pocket and activated it under the table so he could give her a brief look.

"Do you know what we could do with this thing?" she exclaimed when she realized its potential. "We could watch the entire castle!"

"That's the problem," Harry mumbled.

Hannah's eyes narrowed. "You're hiding more than just you and Ginny..." Suddenly, her eyes widened, and Harry could almost see the idea enter her mind. "It's Claire Goldwater, isn't it? That's what McGonagall meant. You use the Map to watch her. Why?"

Harry gave a resigned sigh and searched the floor for Ron and Hermione. They were still dancing, and didn't seem to be paying attention to him anymore. "She has a godfather—"

"A pretty worthless one, according to her," Hannah commented. "I think everyone in the D.A. has heard her talk about him. Sometimes she pretends he's the one she's trying new hexes on."

"Right, that'd be the one. Well, it's me," Harry finished. Hannah's jaw dropped in surprise. "She doesn't know it," Harry explained quickly. "Neither does Ron or Hermione. No one knows. Only Ginny, me and the professors."

"And me," Hannah said quietly.

Harry tried to explain, and hoped that it would make sense to her. If everyone found out that he was her godfather, then she would become a target again. It was what Voldemort was waiting for. He wanted it to be a public display of Harry's failure. So long as no one knew, there wouldn't be anyone to be shocked or outraged or to hold Harry responsible. There wouldn't be any reason for Voldemort to attack her.

"You can't even tell her?" Hannah asked, looking quite a bit less cheerful than she had been when she'd walked down the stairs. "You can't even trust her to keep the secret?"

"No," Harry replied seriously. "I shouldn't have told you, but I can't have you asking about it either." He couldn't explain much more. He told her that she'd have to trust him. He wasn't ready to tell anyone else about being able to talk with Voldemort.

Hannah seemed to be alright with that and they decided that they'd talked for long enough. With a smile, Hannah pulled him back out onto the dance floor.

As they danced, Harry found his eyes searching out Ginny, whether she was dancing with Neville or sitting at the table talking to Hermione. He didn't get much time to speak with her at all, since whenever he tried to talk with her, Neville would ask her to dance.

He'd been able to talk to Ron and Hermione, and he'd explained that he'd told Hannah about the Map. They'd mostly abandoned the dance floor, and without any obvious limping on Hermione's part, or any embarrassment on Ron's. Hannah had wanted some time to talk with some of her friends, which gave Harry time to talk with Ron and Hermione.

He quietly told them that he still felt a little off. He'd tried to pass it off as nerves, but after an hour of dancing and talking, he couldn't imagine what he felt nervous about. The feeling felt like an odd uneasiness in his stomach, as if he was forgetting something dreadfully important.

Ron and Hermione tried to reassure him, and a quick look at the Map convinced him that there wasn't any danger. The place was still crawling with wizards. So Harry ignored his growing discomfort, and went back to dancing with Hannah. Hermione even stole him for a few songs, and tried to warn him about glancing at Ginny a little too often.

Harry ignored her as well, but tried to be a little sneakier about checking on her. She didn't seem to be complaining, but she wasn't dancing like she had with Harry. All of her movements were a little more hesitant. Harry wondered how many times Neville had stomped on her feet.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

I think this is one of the smallest chapters. It's a little short on substance, but I couldn't really leave it out. It's valuable stuff for the next chapter.


	35. Poor Judgment

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 35 - Poor Judgment**

* * *

When Hannah returned, she convinced him to join her for a few more songs, despite his complaints about getting tired. The Ball wouldn't last much longer, and she said it was only fair. It would be the last time she'd be able to pretend she was his date. However, as the song ended, Harry felt a sudden stab of anxiety and the urge to be somewhere else. He instinctively looked toward Ginny and found her staring directly at him. As Neville turned her away from Harry, she nodded toward the head table. 

Harry looked over to see Snape talking with McGonagall. She motioned to Professor Sinistra, and the three of them quietly left the Hall. Harry told Hannah, and she reluctantly followed him back to the table where Ron and Hermione were sitting.

"You know," she said with a resigned frown, "I'm glad to help out however I can, but it would've been nice to end the night with some fun and a little dancing."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just have to be sure." Harry walked to the table in the corner where Ron and Hermione were. He unfolded the map to see what was going on.

A number of professors were rushing toward the Astronomy Tower. Filch and Mrs. Norris were already there.

Ron jabbed a finger at the map. "Harry. The Great Hall. All the professors left." Harry felt his stomach tightening. Something was happening.

Hannah immediately understood. This is what the D.A. was for. "I'll go let everyone know."

Ron stopped her before she ran off. "Keep it quiet for now. We still don't know what's happening and it'll be harder to find out if everyone panics."

Hannah nodded and floated off. Harry looked to the dance floor to find Ginny and Neville. "I'll tell Ginny, and keep watching from the dance floor. Hopefully Neville will come over here and you can tell him."

"Harry, Neville might not want to—" Ron began.

"Hannah doesn't want to either, Ron!" Harry shot back. "Neither do I, but just look at the map. Something's going on. I'm not going to wait because Neville wants to dance." And with that Harry quickly walked onto the dance floor.

Hermione stood up, "Ron. I have a bad feeling. Neville hasn't been acting like himself around Harry. We should go with him." The urgency in her voice was enough to convince Ron to join her.

Harry approached Ginny and Neville as they danced. Luckily the the song was fairly slow and he wouldn't have to chase them across the floor. Ginny noticed him almost immediately and her concern was apparent. She grabbed Neville's shoulder to get his attention.

"Harry! What is it?"

"Ginny, we—" he paused to look around at the other couples. Ginny had stopped dancing and Neville now turned to look at him with something less than happiness. Other couples had noticed and while they kept dancing, many of them were clearly listening to what was being said.

"Neville, would you mind if Ginny and I danced for a bit?"

Neville's expression hardened. "Where's Hannah? Or did she get tired of you staring at Ginny?"

Harry was taken off guard by the accusation. "Neville, please. Just one dance." He turned to Ginny, who was just as surprised at Neville's reply. "Ginny, some help?"

Neville didn't let her answer. "She's my date," he said firmly. "I'm not going to let you impose yourself on her while she's with me, or any other time, for that matter."

Harry was dumbstruck. "Impose myself?"

Neville spoke slowly. "I won't let you force her to dance with you."

Ginny finally spoke up, "Neville, it's just a dance." She had apparently seen the look in Harry's eyes and was worried about what might be happening.

Harry was looking around the dance floor. Many of the nearby couples were listening to what was going on, though they kept dancing and tried to make it look like they weren't as terribly interested as they were. He'd meant this to be quiet, but it was obvious that he was failing. He turned to Neville and tried to reason with him.

"I just want to talk with her. I think Ron and Hermione wanted to talk with you as well." Ron and Hermione were just pushing themselves past the nearest couple. "Here they are. Now can I just dance with her?"

Neville stepped between Harry and Ginny. "You can't have her Harry. You asked her and she said no."

This bit of news got the attention of many nearby students. A few of them stopped dancing to watch what was looking to be an argument between friends over a girl. Such entertainment was uncommon, even at Hogwarts.

Ron and Hermione walked to Harry's side. Ron leaned toward Neville and tried to keep his voice loud enough to be heard but not enough to be overheard. "Just relax, Neville. You don't know what's going on."

Neville glowered at Ron. "I'm not afraid of him". He turned on Harry again, keeping Ginny behind him. "You may not have asked to be famous, but you are, and you never complain about all that it gets you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ginny had a crush on you for years and you ignored her all that time." Neville was getting angry. Ginny had been confused, and now she was getting scared by the way everyone was responding. Neville, unfortunately, was oblivious and continued on.

"You didn't have to worship her. She worshiped you. All you had to do was say anything to her and she'd be happy, but you barely noticed she existed until it was too late."

Hermione grabbed Harry's shoulder, "Harry, I've got a really bad feeling about—"

Harry shot an annoyed look at her. "I know it, Hermione," he growled, "I told you about it, didn't I?"

"...But now that she found someone else, you can't stand it."

"Neville, this is a really bad time for this," Harry said, but Neville barely paused to take a breath.

"You get all the extra help you need. You always have the best broom. Whenever something bad happens, you hide behind Dumbledore and Ron's family and your dead parents. They changed the rules of the Triwizard Tournament for you! The I.C.W. shows up, and all they're interested in is you. You've got your own club, with your own followers. You wanted Cho, and you got her. Now you want Ginny, but you can't have her."

Ron paled. "Neville, this really isn't a good idea—" He tried to grab Neville to lead him away, but Neville jerked his arm away.

Hermione was visibly panicked now. "Harry," she said as she shook his shoulder. "It's just like the others. Crabbe— Justin— Dean— This is how it started."

Suddenly the anger which had been building in Harry broke and turned to fear. She was right. His mind started racing, trying to find a solution to this problem he hadn't anticipated. Harry pushed her hand off his shoulder, and almost shouted back at her.

"I know! I see it, alright?" Harry looked around the room quickly. Many of the students nearby were watching him, but quite a few students were slowly moving through the main doors at the other end of the hall. They were leaving. "The doors, Ron, watch everyone who leaves. Go!" He quickly handed Ron the folded Marauder's Map and turned back to Neville. "We have to go. We have to go, _now_. You're in danger here."

"Everyone around you is in danger." Neville yelled back. If any students nearby had forgotten what was happening, their attention was drawn to the row on the dance floor.

"Your parents are dead because of some prophecy about you. Cedric died because he was with you. Sirius died trying to protect you. And Ginny was taken down to that horrible chamber because she knew _you_. And now there's Justin and Dean and Susan." Neville paused to see if Harry would respond. Instead, Harry turned to Hermione.

"Find Hannah and assemble the D.A. Leave a couple on the stairs with Ron, and take the rest to the Fat Lady." Hermione wasn't listening, and was still looking for anyone out of place. "Hermione!".

Hermione faced him and nodded quickly. "Can you get him to leave?" she asked.

"If Ginny helps, I think so." He looked to Ginny. "If not, then we'll just have to leave him, I won't risk forcing him."

"Good luck", Hermione said, then slipped away into the crowd.

"We have to go, Neville", Ginny said, pushing him toward Harry.

"No. Not with him. You've already been exposed to that danger once. You made it through. You've had your turn. It's not fair."

Ginny was finally able to get in front of him. She grabbed his arm, "You don't understand, we have to leave."

Harry grabbed his other arm. "You have to come with us."

"Why?"

"So I can protect you. I can only protect you if you're with me."

"The only reason we'd need protection is because we we're with you," he said with more spite than Harry had ever imagined he's see from Neville. "I'll go with Ginny and as long as you stay away from us, we'll be fine."

"I'm sorry, Neville, I'm afraid you're well beyond that now. We can't do this here. Ginny, we have to go." Ginny nodded and starting walking toward the door, dragging Neville behind her. Harry followed them, pushing Neville lightly. As the left the Great Hall, Neville stopped and refused to go any farther. Ron was on the stairs, silently urging Harry to hurry.

"Not here either, Neville. We need to go to the common room," he said as he tried to steer Neville toward the stairs.

"No, Harry. She chose me." Neville pushed Harry back. "You asked and she said _no_. You kept bothering her and she still said _no_. She didn't want to come with you. She's over you."

Ginny's grip on his arm loosened. Her voice was soft and it came as a harsh contrast to the shouts and accusations of the last few minutes.

"Neville, that isn't true."

She'd said it quietly, but Harry still looked around to see who might be listening. A few people were looking at him, but few could have heard Ginny's statement. It was simple and honest, full of both sincerity and apology.

"You don't have to defend him!" Neville replied in a loud voice. "I heard him. I heard it—"

Neville paused, and his gaze slipped from Harry to Ginny. She was still holding his arm, but no longer pulling him. He swallowed, and looked at Ginny with narrowed eyes.

"Which... Which part wasn't true?"

Ginny frowned, and looked to Harry. Harry met her glance, and then turned back to Neville. Neville's body had slackened in confusion and Ginny resumed pulling on Neville's arm. However, this time there was no resistance nor any will to fight. Together, Harry and Ginny guided Neville toward the stairs.

Ron met them halfway up the first staircase. He had already sent off most of the D.A. members.

"There were too many people, Harry. With all the professors gone, people just started leaving." He took out the Marauder's Map. "The professors and Aurors are all over the place now. I think most are out on the grounds. They must have seen something from the tower. We should get to the common room as soon as we can. I don't think anyone really knows what's going on."

"You're probably right," Harry said as he pushed Neville up the stairs. "Ginny, lead the way. Ron, make sure Neville keeps moving. We'll have to assume it's safe ahead of us, and I'll protect us from whatever might be behind us."

Though Neville slowed them down, they were still able to reach the Fat Lady fairly quickly. Hermione opened the portrait for them and all the Gryffindors stepped in while the rest of the D.A. kept watch.

Hermione immediately ran up to her room. Ron went to a table and opened up the map. Ginny scanned the room quickly and found one of the first year students who'd just received an owl, most likely a letter from her parents. "We need to use that owl!" Ginny pleaded. "It's very important." Daunted, the small girl nodded silently.

"Who should we send it to, Harry?" she yelled from across the room.

Harry was talking with Hannah through the portrait hole. "Dumbledore, I'd think. Ron! Where's Dumbledore?"

"By the Willow. McGonagall's right down the Hall, though."

"Write it to Dumbledore!" he yelled back to Ginny.

"Right," she said, looking a little uneasy. "And can I have a word with you, Harry?" Harry's head turned to stare at her. "Now?" he asked with obvious frustration. "It'll have to wait, I'm in the middle of something."

He turned back to Hannah. "I think we're through the most dangerous part. Tell this lot to disperse. It just looks suspicious. Then send McGonagall here." He started to close the portrait, but stopped and shouted, "Oh, and thanks for a fun night of dancing."

Hannah smirked back at him. "You're welcome. What's better than going to a ball and having the bloke you're with spend the entire night looking at everyone but you?"

Neville was watching Ginny as she scribbled a quick note to Dumbledore. Harry walked over and crouched in front of him, immediately capturing Neville's attention.

"That was probably the most foolish thing you've ever done."

Neville was still confused, but his eyes were narrowed with suspicion and anger. "What's going on? Justin was right, wasn't he? You haven't been honest with us, have you? Has it been you all this time?"

"Honestly, Neville," Hermione said as she walked behind Harry. "How could you believe that?" She turned to Harry, "We're safe here. I couldn't find anything in the tower."

Ginny appeared at Harry's side, still looking tense. "The letter's off to Dumbledore. I'm sure he's got it by now." She noticed Neville staring at her, and turned away.

Neville's head dropped, and he stared at the carpet. "Which part wasn't true?" he asked quietly.

"Look Neville..." Harry started, but he didn't know how to explain it. Neville's dejected posture made it even more difficult. "This summer—"

"Let her tell me," he interrupted. Ginny reluctantly turned to look at him. She knelt down in front of him to try to get him to look at her, but he refused. He's figured it out, Harry realized.

"Which part wasn't true, Ginny?" Neville asked again.

"Er... most of it, I guess. This summer... Well, Harry and I spoke to each other a lot. I didn't have a crush on him anymore... I swear. It was different. We talked and got to be friends. And well..." she trailed off, hoping that would be enough.

"And now you're going out," Neville whispered. He looked up with a disgusted face. "He was your _second choice_, Ginny. How long after that did it take before he finally convinced you."

"Hold on!" Harry complained. "I didn't trick her or convince her. It was her choice as much as mine. And she wasn't my second choice. We didn't want anyone to know about it. You just heard her reminding me about that."

Neville's head popped up and he looked at Harry and then Ginny. His mouth moved soundlessly for a moment before words finally formed. "So you... before... W-When did you start? Christmas holidays?" Ginny's head dropped as she shook it. "Before Christmas?" Nevile asked though he already knew the answer. "Before Halloween?" Ginny looked up with glassy eyes filled with pity. Neville's eyes were red and his face was flushed. He started laughing, but it was high pitched, almost manic.

"Oh, don't I look like the House imbecile! You already told me... You must be getting a good laugh," he said bitterly. "I guess this means the bloke you made such a scene over at Diagon Alley was Harry?" A barely perceptible nod from Ginny made Neville laugh again.

"And that kiss after the Quidditch match wasn't as innocent as you claimed, was it? You never even knew that when I was young, I used to sleep under a painting of a mermaid?"

"No," Ginny said sympathetically. "The mermaid costume... well, it was a bit of a joke between Harry and me."

Neville had stopped laughing, but his eyes seemed to redden even more. "I thought... I thought you might have actually liked me. Harry was right. It really _was_ a stupid thing to do."

"That's not true, Neville," Ginny said as she moved toward him. Neville recoiled in something that looked to be disgust. Ginny stopped to looked into his eyes, "That's not what he meant."

Harry walked back to stand near Neville. "You're in danger, Neville. The others, they've all... they've all been hurt," Harry tried to explain. "I thought I knew why... but I don't."

"Then how do you know I'm in danger? If you aren't controlling it, why are you so sure that I'm next?" Ginny's head snapped up. She glanced at Harry, but then turned back to Neville.

"We... don't know that you're next, but you are in danger," she said quietly. She backed away from Neville and turned to stare at the fire. Her retreat seemed to trouble Neville as much as her earlier attempt to console him. However, his pain and embarrassment were quickly turning back into the anger he'd displayed earlier.

"I'm in danger because I'm near _him_, because I stood up to him," Neville said to her back. "It doesn't change anything. Everyone around him is in danger. No one cared when it was Crabbe, and Justin was being a prat. What did Dean do? And Susan Bones? And that Ravenclaw girl?" Neville turned to look at Harry. "Face it, Harry. It's dangerous just being around you. We'd all be safe if you just left. You're a curse!"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Neville," Harry replied coldly. "They'll come for you whether I'm here or not. He'll do it because he knows that I'll see it. There's nowhere in the world I could go to change that. He's planning something bigger. All of this is just... a distraction or... some twisted sport of his."

The portrait hole opened with a slight creak and Professor McGonagall stepped through. Her serious mood seemed to radiate from her.

"Don't leave the tower, Neville," Harry said sternly. "Not tonight. Let Dumbledore decide when it's safe." He turned and walked toward his Head of House, leaving Neville feeling both angry and embarrassed over the events of this evening. Before anyone could stop him, he was striding toward the stairs and climbing them to the the sixth year's dormitory.

"Alright, Potter," Professor McGonagall began sternly. "Quickly now, what is it you needed to speak with me about?"

"I need to speak to Dumbledore."

"—_Professor_ Dumbledore—" McGonagall corrected.

"Right, sorry," Harry apologized quickly. "I think Neville is in danger." McGonagall looked skeptical, so Harry tried to tell the story of what had happened earlier, glossing over some of the points he felt she didn't need to know, like the entire reason for the argument.

"I understand your concerns, Potter, but we can't take special action for anyone who gets into a minor disagreement with you," McGonagall said impatiently. "Now, I have more important things—"

"It wasn't a minor disagreement, Professor," Hermione interrupted as she and Ron walked up behind Harry. "Neville's really quite upset. He said some horrible things. Everyone heard him." McGonagall looked toward the stairs. "Neville Longbottom? What was this argument about?" No one answered immediately.

"A girl."

Everyone turned toward the sound of the voice, and saw a sullen Ginny Weasley sitting in the corner nearby. She said nothing more, and didn't even look at them. McGonagall's face relaxed only a little. "I should have known. Students have enough to worry about without such things. I assume Miss Abbott returned to her common room? I admit, I thought Mr. Longbottom was quite happy with Miss Weasley." Everyone got quiet again, and Ron looked to see if Ginny would speak up.

"He was," Harry finally said. McGonagall pursed her lips as she worked out what had happened. Her frown deepened as she fixed her eyes on Harry. "Yes, I think understand now. And this happened when?" The three of them explained the rest of the story to McGonagall and she seemed more and more interested in hearing exactly what happened.

"Mr. Potter, you will come with me. The Headmaster will need to know about this." She lowered her voice so only the three of them could hear. "One of the Aurors claims to have spotted a wizard in a dark cloak on the Astronomy Tower. There was some doubt at first, but it is now obvious that it was none of the extra security brought by the Confederation wizards. We have found no trace of any intruder, but if Mr. Weasley is telling the truth, I would find it a terrible coincidence that the intruder disappeared right as Potter and Longbottom were ...displaying their immaturity."

Harry nodded to Ron and Hermione and left with McGonagall. They walked quickly and silently to Dumbledore's office. Harry knew the way quite well by now, and when they finally reached his office, Harry saw Dumbledore bent over a strange silver instrument on his desk.

"Albus, I think we know what might have happened to our intruder tonight." Harry told the story again, this time being more truthful than he had been the first time. Dumbledore did not seem at all surprised about any of the events, but merely nodded silently, as if he had suspected this all along.

"I agree, Harry. I think Mr. Longbottom is safest here for the time being. However, I'm afraid that that decision will be up to his grandmother." Dumbledore rose and walked to his fireplace. A moment later, Harry saw the face of an old (and seemingly quite annoyed) witch in the fireplace.

"Albus? What is it? Can it wait until tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid it cannot," Dumbledore replied. Dumbledore quickly explained what was going on, though he left out any reason for the danger her grandson was in. When she asked, Dumbledore merely replied, "The cause is a matter of a somewhat personal nature, perhaps best explained by Neville. However, the consequences are the only thing that matter for the moment."

Neville's grandmother ignored his mysterious answer and pressed Dumbledore about the seriousness of the danger Neville was in. Dumbledore attempted to reassure her, but she seemed to be getting more and more upset with him.

"I'm sorry, Albus," she said without actually sounding apologetic. "Hogwarts simply isn't as safe as it once was. I will send Neville's Great Uncle to come escort him home. The Hogsmeade Floo is still safe to use, is it not?"

"Last I've heard, but I must say that I cannot guarantee his safety outside of Hogwarts, we have had—"

"Algernon is a strong wizard, Albus. Let Neville sleep for now, but I trust someone will be waiting by the door?"

Dumbledore gave a tired nod, "Two Aurors guard the door at all hours. We will let Neville know." As the face in the fireplace disappeared, Dumbledore turned to Harry.

"Do you have any idea where the intruder might have gone?" he asked with a piercing gaze. "Have you _seen_ anything? Please try and remember anything."

Harry tried as hard as he could, but it was useless. He hadn't seen anything that night. No visions, no dreams. All he had seen was the Aurors and professors running about on the map. He forced his mind to remember fleeing the Great Hall. Could he have missed something? That would be the time when this intruder would have been running away from Hogwarts. He'd been rather distracted at the time and it could have been easy to miss something. Of course, he'd been distracted before and still caught the visions immediately. He closed his eyes, searching for any scrap of a memory that might help, but he couldn't remember anything. Or rather, he _could_ remember nothing. Only blackness.

And a tree. Actually many trees.

Dumbledore's eyes lit up as he saw the change in Harry's expression. "Perhaps you _did_ see something?" The image had faded, but Harry remembered it well enough.

"Trees. The same large oaks that I broke my arm on." As he remembered them other images started fading in and out of his sight. "And ... there was another— There were two of them. One of them had an owl. Maybe that's how they found out about Neville."

Dumbledore was looking at him very intently again. "Were they moving toward the Castle, or away from it?" Harry tried to think, but he couldn't really tell. "Neither, I'd say," he told the Headmaster. "I think they were walking toward something, but it wasn't the castle."

Dumbledore seemed quite unsatisfied by Harry's answer but nodded his understanding anyway. "Minerva, I will need to speak to Kingsley Shacklebolt immediately. Tell the rest of the Aurors to gather. I do not think the grounds are safe tonight, and I will feel quite a bit happier if Old Algie has some protection between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. Harry, you may see yourself back to Gryffindor Tower, and I wonder if you would be able to tell Neville about what was decided here."

Harry was mostly dazed as he walked back to Gryffindor Tower. He wasn't sure if Neville would be willing to talk with him, but surely he could find someone who could at least give him a message. What troubled him more was that for the second time he had somehow forgotten about visions he'd had. What did that mean? Had he forgotten having them? Ginny had said she'd known when she'd been possessed because she couldn't remember what she'd been doing. Harry thought he knew what he'd been doing all night, but how could he have missed the visions?

He was awoken from his ponderings as he reached the Fat Lady and heard an argument through the portrait.

"Come on, then," she prodded impatiently. "Give me the password and see if you can't end this bickering."

"Wormwood" Harry said and the portrait swung open. He was immediately able to make out the arguing voices.

"—he listen to me? Who am I to stop him?" Harry heard Ron's voice say.

"You're a _prefect_, Ron!" said a female voice, undoubtedly Ginny's.

"Well, it's not like he broke any rules," a third voice said. Hermione apparently was in the argument as well. "We can't really stop him from doing something just because we disagree."

"Well, why did he need to take a broom with him?" Ginny shouted. Harry was now fully in the common room. Ginny, Ron and Hermione were standing in the corner nearest the portrait hole. A few other students were around, but they mostly seemed to be watching the row in the corner with awed silence.

"I don't know! Maybe he'll go stuff himself in one of the goal hoops." Ron replied. "Why should I even care? You heard what he said to Harry. If he wants to act like an idiot, I'm not going to stop him."

"Don't you get it, Ron?" Ginny said bitterly. "It's not about Neville. This is about Harry. It's always been about Harry. These aren't just attacks on Dean and Susan. They are attacks on Harry, too."

"Well, If you're so worried about Neville, then why don't you run off and check on him?"

Ginny's face paled a bit, and she turned to Hermione instead. "Please, Hermione, just let someone else know. An Auror, or McGonagall, or _anyone_. This feels _wrong_. I just know it."

"We'll tell Harry when he gets back," Hermione said in a calming voice.

"Tell me what?" Harry asked, causing all three of his friends to snap their heads in his direction. Ginny's eyes widened and she ran toward him talking very quickly.

"Harry! Neville got an owl. He's packed a bunch of his things and left the common room. He said that he was leaving, and I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen to me and Ron and Hermione—" her eyes darted toward them "—wouldn't help me."

"I know," Harry said calmly. "Dumbledore just talked with his grandmother. His great uncle is coming to pick him up sometime tonight. Dumbledore sent me to tell him. I guess his grandmother decided to tell him first."

"What are you talking about Harry?" Hermione said. "Neville got the owl just after you left with McGonagall."

"He couldn't have. Dumbledore woke her up. She'd been sleeping." Even Ron's eyes had gone wide, now.

"I read the note, mate," Ron said. "I think it's still on his bed if you want to read it yourself."

Ron, Hermione and Ginny dashed up the stairs after Harry. As they burst into the dormitory, Seamus let out a high pitched yelp as he dove behind his bed curtains. Harry snatched the letter off the ground near where Neville's trunk had been.

_Dear Neville,_

_Dumbledore told me about what happened tonight. He seems to think that you are perfectly safe where you are, but I don't trust him as much as we used to. You're not safe there, dear._

_I am at Hogsmeade visiting some good friends. I want you to meet me by the main gates as soon as you can get there. And try to take a broom instead of walking. I don't think the grounds are safe either._

_You will come home until Hogwarts is safer._

_Sincerely,_

_Gran_

"When did Neville leave?" Harry asked, as he quickly re-read the letter. Ron shrugged and looked at the two girls. "Dunno. Maybe five minutes before you came back?" Harry stuffed the letter in his pocket and strode toward the door.

"Neville's Gran didn't write this. She's not in Hogsmeade. She's sending someone else to pick Neville up. Someone else sent this to make Neville leave Hogwarts."

The four of them tumbled out of the portrait hole into the hallway. "We have to find Dumbledore or McGonagall," Hermione said. Harry was about to suggest they go to the front doors, when his stomach suddenly knotted and leapt. He stumbled to the stone floor. Ginny dropped down next to him, trying to help him up. "What is it, Harry?"

Harry swallowed and pulled himself to his feet. "Voldemort," he croaked, "he's... _laughing_." Ginny's face became even paler than it had been. Harry looked at his friends. "The front doors. Aurors will be there."

They ran down the staircase as quickly as they could. They passed no professors, no students, and no Aurors on their way to the Entrance Hall. Harry was feeling winded and a little dizzy as he went down the last flight of stairs. With only a few last stairs to go and a group of Aurors in sight, Harry's world went suddenly black. Sharp pains shot through his shoulder and ribs and he felt the world tumble about him.

At first Harry thought that had passed out yet again, but he could still hear voices. Ron and Hermione were shouting something at him but it sounded like they were shouting from the bottom of some deep pit. After considering how little he could see, Harry decided it was probably him that was in the pit.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he was able to make out a pair of large looming shapes against a dark sky, one close, the other standing some distance away, alone on the clear ground. In the back of his mind, he could hear a frantic voice asking him what was wrong. It was Ginny.

This has to be another vision, he told himself. He ignored the voices calling him and tried to concentrate on what he was seeing. These must have been the intruders. Harry looked around and his blood froze as his eyes locked on silhouette of a large castle on a hill in the distance. They were still near Hogwarts.

The figure near Harry extended a long arm to point into the sky. Harry followed it and saw a small figure flying erratically through the night sky. Harry knew who it was before he even saw him. Neville had attempted to shrink his trunk, but it had only shrank to about half its size, and it caused the broom to jerk back and forth as it swayed from poorly tied ropes under his broom.

As the shape got nearer and lower to the ground, the far figure raised an arm as well, but this one had a wand held in it. A harsh woman's voice rang out in the night.

"_Impedimentia!_"

Neville gave a weak scream as his broom slowed dangerously and dropped out from under him, dragged to the ground by the anchor of his trunk. Neville dropped as well, but not so quickly. He struck the ground roughly and rolled into a limp heap not far from the woman who'd attacked him.

Harry went to where Neville landed, and watched as the two robed figures approached. He was moaning and cradling one arm, unable to even see the grotesque angle his lower leg was twisted into. The agony written on his face was washed away quickly though, as the taller of the two figures drew back his hood and removed his mask.

"Yes, that arm does look broken," a high pitched voice laughed. Harry didn't have to look. It was Voldemort. Voldemort was just outside Hogwarts. "But your leg is much worse." Voldemort laughed again as Neville's mouth dropped in horror upon seeing his leg. He knelt over Neville, his face pulled into a grimace of anger and hatred. Slowly, he wrapped a bony hand around Neville's broken arm and squeezed, forcing a guttural scream from Neville's throat. "A small price to pay for befriending Harry Potter."

Neville had almost fainted, but was now looking defiantly into Voldemort's eyes. He tried to speak, but his voice was shaky and weak.

"W-Won't... N-Never tell... Y-you— R-Rath— Rather d-die..."

"I didn't come here to kill you, Neville Longbottom. Indeed, I am taking quite a chance simply being here. However, you have helped me so much that it simply wouldn't be fair for me to not thank you personally." Neville looked confused. Terror and doubt seemed to temporarily push the pain from his mind.

"No one, not even my most loyal servant, has created such an opportunity for me. I admit, it is not something even I could have planned. Potter can be so very foolish, and he has surrounded himself with foolish friends. This has caused me to change my plans, but for the better."

Voldemort bent over to look Neville in the eye again. "For this, I thank you. And I shall give you a gift. I give it freely, and without demand of repayment, though it is not nearly so great as the gift I unwillingly gave Potter." He stood and laughed, "There will be no need for you to thank me for this gift." With that he turned and walked off.

As he walked, the other figure stood forward, her wand still drawn. Voldemort turned and watched from a short distance. "Pay close attention, Potter. I'll be gone in a moment. Your friend will need you."

The woman threw back her hood. "You do remember me, don't you?"

Neville scowled back at her in pain and disgust. "Yes," he spat. "Bellatrix Lestrange. You're filth!" He would have said more, but she gave him a vicious kick to his leg, causing him to howl in pain.

"I would rather send you to your parents, but I have been given the task of delivering your gift to you. Something that's been taken from you, though you scarcely knew it was gone. But I know. I was there when it was taken." Neville's face contorted in shock, but Bellatrix continued.

"It is not as simple to give back what someone else has taken. but there is a way." Harry was repulsed by the sweet, sympathetic tones Bellatrix was emulating. Behind him, Voldemort simply hissed in laughter.

"There is a way. I devoted nearly a year of my life to searching for it, and in my studies I found many things. I shared them with the Dark Lord and he raised me above all others. And then I found it: one of the old ways, long forgotten by the ancients when it no longer seemed useful. All it needs is a source —a seed— of truth, and your mind will do the rest. I had hoped I would be able to show you."

Bellatrix raised her wand and pointed it at Neville's chest. "I told him you were too young. It wouldn't have mattered, but Crouch didn't take chances. He always was a bit forceful with his spells. Believe this, Neville Longbottom, I _will_ do my best."

"_Sataru Mudutu!_" she shouted, and a crackling string of light connected Bellatrix's wand and Neville's forehead. A moment later, Neville began screaming and flailing his broken limbs.

Behind him, Harry heard Voldemort's hissing laugh growing louder. "Hurry back, Potter," he whispered. Harry knew what would come next, but part of him didn't want to leave Neville until Voldemort was gone. Confirming his suspicions, Harry's scar burned like it was on fire, and he screamed as streaks of light forced their way into his eyes. He was cold. Very cold. Someone else was screaming.

But Voldemort was still in front of him. The light faded and Voldemort turned to look directly at Harry, as if he could see him. His red eyes flared and his lips pulled back in a grimace. The screams were deafening now. He couldn't tell who was screaming anymore. Was it Neville? His mother? Himself?. It sounded like all of them together.

"Leave now!" Voldemort shouted. "Leave now or I will make them all pay."

Harry didn't know how to leave. Could he run back to Hogwarts like this? Was he really here? Why could Voldemort see him? The questions spun around in his mind, until the very world around him seemed to tip and spin.

The back of his head hurt. It was cold, yet throbbing. He felt more and more cold as the world around him got lighter and foggier. What was happening?

"HARRY! WAKE UP!"

Harry shook his head. His scar was throbbing and his eyes were blurry with tears. Ginny was shaking him and yelling.

He blinked to clear his eyes and saw a large group of Aurors standing around him. He was laying on the cold stone floor of the Entrance Hall. Ron and Hermione were on one side of him, and Professor McGonagall was kneeling on the other.

"Harry! Are you okay?" Ginny asked. Tears were running down her face. "What did you see, Harry? Was it Neville?"

"It's too late, but I think he's still alive," Harry said groggily.

"Where is he?" McGonagall asked urgently.

"Gates... He's at the gates... Voldemort was there..." His world was growing dim again. Not again, he told himself. "G-Gone by now... Neville's... hurt."

A number of Aurors bolted out the door, followed by McGonagall. Harry saw the glow of their red sparks as the world faded around him again.

* * *

Harry awoke to the sickeningly familiar view of the ceiling of the Hospital Wing. It was dazzlingly bright and sterile and for a moment he was filled only with the loathing of another night spent in the Hospital Wing. 

"He's awake!"

Ron came running over to the side of Harry's bed. Behind him was Hermione, who seemed equally eager to see Harry. Ron flopped down into a chair next to Harry's bed. "It's about time, mate. You just missed a late lunch," Ron said cheerily then seemed to think twice about it. "Er... on second thought, about all you missed was some cold food and an empty hall."

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked warily.

"I'm here," a small voice responded. Ginny was sitting quietly in a corner behind him. Ron looked over to his sister. "With Harry's luck, you can probably still manage some lunch and be back before he gets out."

"Already ate," Ginny said mechanically.

"When?" Ron asked dubiously.

"Aurors made me," Ginny replied just as flatly. Harry craned his head to look at her. "What Aurors?" he asked. Ginny pulled the curtains aside a little and pointed toward the door. "Those Aurors."

Through the curtain, Harry could see a pair of Aurors standing near the door talking with Madam Pomfrey. Seeing them brought back memories of the previous night (it _had_ been only one night, hadn't it?).

Ginny was staring at the Aurors. Hermione was looking at her hands while they tugged at a pocket. Only Ron was looking at him.

"What happened to Neville?" Harry asked finally.

Ron shrugged, but spoke seriously. "No one knows. I think everyone hopes you'll know. Last night, the Aurors wanted to force you to wake up and tell them more, but Pomfrey started shouting and threatening them. Dumbledore sent them out after that."

"He's alive?" Harry asked. Ron nodded, and Harry sat up and started to pull the sheets from around him. Ginny jumped up nervously and Ron stood up with her as if they meant to stop him. Harry was surprised to see he was still in his dress robes, but ignored that for now. "Is he awake? Can I talk to him?"

"He's not here, Harry," Ginny said quietly. He gave her a surprised look.

"He... He's already left? Why am I still here?"

Ron looked at Harry gravely. "They took Neville to St. Mungo's."

Harry couldn't believe it. "St. Mungo's? He had a broken arm, and broken leg— a severely broken leg," he corrected himself. "He had a rough time of it, but Madam Pomfrey—"

"His leg and arm were fixed before they brought him back," Hermione interrupted. "His rib and fingers, as well, but he wouldn't stop shouting and screaming. Madam Pomfrey couldn't find any other injuries to mend, but he didn't stop..." She trailed off as Harry stared at her. His eyes slowly turned to Ginny, who was still standing nearby.

"Where was it?" he asked.

"Where was what?" asked Ron, but Harry ignored him. He kept staring at Ginny, who looked up into Harry's eyes.

"Where was it, Ginny?"

"His chest," she croaked. "Right over his heart."

Hermione cocked her head at Harry and Ginny. "What are you two talking about?" Ginny started explaining everything she hadn't the previous night.

"I felt _him_ last night... I knew he was nearby. That's why I was so frightened, but I knew no one would believe me. Not until there was some proof... When Harry fell... I guessed what was happening. The Aurors should have left and searched the grounds like I told them." She seemed to get paler as she spoke. "When they brought Neville in... I didn't see it... I just _knew_. There's a lightning bolt mark on his chest. I'm sure of it."

"You are quite correct, Miss Weasley," a voice said from the center of the room. Harry looked and saw Albus Dumbledore walking toward him, looking more serious than he had in some time. Behind him were the Aurors from the door, looking even more serious. One of them looked quite old.

Before Harry could even speak, Dumbledore had raised a hand to silence him. "I suspect you have some questions, Harry. However, I must ask your help first. As you have heard, Neville Longbottom is currently at St. Mungo's where a team of wizards is trying to help him as we speak. Do you remember what happened to him?"

Harry stared at the Headmaster for a moment before giving him an account of what he saw. Dumbledore didn't seem at all interested in Neville's broken bones, but when Harry tried to recite what Bellatrix had said, Dumbledore's eyes widened a bit and he looked thoughtful.

"What is it?" Harry asked. Dumbledore stood and looked Harry in the eyes. "Neville has said very little since last night. The few things he has said have involved his parents. Most recently he has taken to repeating the words 'Take it back'."

The night started to make sense. Voldemort would never give Neville something he truly wanted or needed. The answer assembled itself in his mind as if Dumbledore were leading him to the conclusion. Crouch had taken it, but Bellatrix gave it back.

"We've always suspected that Neville was the subject of a Memory Charm after the attacks on his parents, but no one could ever prove it or understand why," Dumbledore explained. "It has always been just as much a mystery why he was even left alive. However, there was no reason to reverse it. The attackers had been found, and there was little else in young Neville's memory that he would want back."

"She... she gave him her memories of the attack... A seed to help him remember the rest." Harry said in a daze. He felt ill. "Voldemort said that it was a gift to Neville."

"Why not simply Charm him again?" Ron asked. Before Dumbledore could answer, Hermione spoke up.

"You can't just Obliviate any memory you want, Ron. It has to be something recent. More recent than fifteen years ago, I'm afraid."

Dumbledore nodded. "It is as well as I could hope, and yet as horrible as I feared," he said quietly. "Do not worry, Harry. Neville will live. His new memories will fade, and until then, there are steps which may be taken to comfort him. I will tell Poppy that you may be released as soon as you choose."

With that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the Hospital Wing. The Aurors followed him back to the door and then resumed their watch over the room.

A short time later Madam Pomfrey came in looking a little annoyed. She announced that Harry could leave if he liked, but that she felt it would be better if he stayed for another night. Harry almost walked out at that moment, but Pomfrey was adamant about having him change into normal clothing.

Reluctantly, Hermione, Ron and Ginny left the wing, after telling him they would wait for him outside. As Harry changed into some normal clothes which were sitting nearby (Ron must have brought them down last night). Madam Pomfrey took the opportunity to continue checking him for bizarre illnesses.

When he finally got out of the Hospital Wing, the students were just starting to head to the Great Hall for their evening meal. Pomfrey had managed to keep him around for another hour while she fed him a Pepper-Up Potion and some other concoction that was still making him feel a bit jittery. As he walked out into the hallway he saw Ron and Hermione sitting next to each other along the wall. They both jumped to their feet, faces blushing.

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked, not wanting to know why they might be embarrassed.

"She left a few minutes ago," Ron said quickly, "She was listening at the door. Must have known you were almost free. She said she'd meet us in the common room."

When they got to the common room it was mostly empty, and the few students that were there quickly scuttled out of the room on their way to the Great Hall. Harry sat down in a large comfy chair near one of the windows. Ron and Hermione sat nearby. Harry stared out the window, and waited for Ginny.

After only a few minutes, the portrait opened and Harry saw a flash of red hair poke through. She spotted Harry and walked over to the chairs. On her arm were three very small covered baskets. Before taking a seat between Harry's chair and the wall, she quickly surveyed the common room.

"What're those?" Ron asked, pointing at the miniature baskets. Ginny smiled and set them on the floor in front of them. "Supper," she announced triumphantly. "I'm sure Harry doesn't want everyone staring at him. and Dobby was happy to help."

Ron looked worried. "We didn't get much for lunch, Ginny, and I don't know how you could have had much more. Couldn't you have... you know... asked for a bit more? Fred and George used to bring loads of food."

Ginny glared back at Ron. "Yes, and Fred and George used to mash half the stuff they brought back, didn't they? I wanted proper food." Ron looked as though he wouldn't have cared if his food was mashed or not. Before he could complain, Ginny had pulled out her wand. With an elegant wave of her wand, the three small baskets tripled in size.

Ron lifted the lid of one to see what was inside. "Brilliant!" he exclaimed as he pulled out a large red apple. "When did you get so good at that?" Ginny just shrugged as she put her wand away. Ron turned a suspicious eye on the apple, but seemed suitably pleased with its taste. Even Hermione seemed impressed with the feat.

Harry simply smiled and rummaged in the nearest basket until he found some bangers and mash. Ginny passed out some plates from another basket and they ate in relative peace. Ron and Hermione were talking freely, and Ginny was listening but saying nothing. Eventually, Harry joined in the conversation.

Much sooner than Harry wanted, the students started returning from the Great Hall. Some of them noticed Harry and whispered things to their friends before walking off. He tried to ignore it. He didn't want to think about it.

"Harry! You're back!" a voice shouted from across the room. Katie Bell walked over to Harry and gave him an appraising look. "You're alright, aren't you? No permanent damage?" Harry gave her an odd look.

"You seemed to be passing out a lot," she explained, "and well... I didn't want you to... you know... fall off. Like my fourth year?"

Harry groaned and dropped his head. "I'm fine, Katie. I'm not sick."

"Excellent," she said brightly. She looked around the room and frowned. "I guess I thought Ginny would have been with you three. No one's seen her since... er... last night. Have any of you seen her?"

"No," said a voice near Harry, "I heard she was eaten by the giant squid."

Katie frowned and circled around Harry. "Ah. There you are. I didn't want to lose a Chaser either," Katie said. Ginny nodded with unenthusiastic gratitude as she took another bite out of her bread. Katie smiled and looked over at Harry, then back at Ginny. "So... Everyone's talking about it. Is it true?"

Ron choked on his meat pie. "Everyone's talking about Ginny being eaten by the squid?" he laughed. "And you're wondering if it's true?"

"No," Katie replied as she stuck her tongue out at Ron. She turned back to Ginny and smiled. "Is it true that you and Harry are going out?"

There was a dull _thump_ as Ginny's bread fell to the floor. The color drained from her face until she was a sickly pale. She could not have looked more terrified if Katie had turned into a pack of trolls.

"W-Where... Where did you hear that?" Ginny stammered.

Katie looked thoughtful for a moment. "Where... er... I think it was a bunch of Hufflepuff girls, at breakfast. I think they were the first—"

"—The first?" Harry interrupted.

"—Yeah... All the Slytherins were making jokes about it. Even the Ravenclaws were talking about it. I guess I missed it, but they said that you beat up Neville last night, and when he ran off he was attacked by Death Eaters."

"That's... er... not quite how it went," Ron said weakly.

Harry felt horribly ill. He looked at the baskets of food in front of him and his stomach lurched dangerously. How had he overlooked it? He'd been thinking only of Neville. No one had said it clearly, but their argument had started people thinking.

"They've been friends for ages, Katie," Ron said quickly. "And... er... they're just really close friends."

Katie raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? I saw them kiss after the match, Ron. I've never kissed any of my friends like that."

Ron looked annoyed, and a little upset. "He'd just saved her from being clobbered! _I_ would have kissed him if there hadn't been a queue. They're not—"

"We are." Ginny interrupted in a low voice. "We just didn't want everyone talking about it. Neville... Neville didn't know."

Katie's eyes opened wide as she realized what had happened. "Ahh. I see. I suppose Harry does deserve a little privacy." She shrugged and picked up a pumpkin pasty. "Still... Dunno why you'd want to hide that. I think it's brilliant. Especially if it means we win all our matches."

She looked at Harry and Ginny, then looked suspiciously at the pasty. "This food is still good, right? You two look wretched."

"Pomfrey made me drink some vile potions," Harry said immediately.

"I didn't sleep well last night," Ginny said at the same time.

Katie looked suspiciously at the two of them, then at her pasty. With a shrug, she took another bite, then walked off. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat silently around the food baskets, though none of them was eating. Harry and Ginny mostly looked sick, and didn't look at anyone. Ron seemed annoyed.

"Is it honestly that bad, Harry?" Hermione finally asked. Harry looked up. He was looking less sick than he had before, but he was still obviously upset.

"I don't know," Harry said. His mind was shouting _Yes_, but it looked like Ginny was already thinking the same thing he was and he didn't want to make her feel worse.

"When we decided..." Ginny started to explain, "...I was more afraid of Harry being tricked into thinking he was protecting me. You know, like he was with Sirius. I thought they'd make him put himself in danger. I never... never imagined something like this."

Ron tried to be positive, and pointed out that it was only a rumor, and that only last week there had been a rumor that Snape had poisoned himself, when he had only been gone collecting potion ingredients for a couple days.

"That's not the point, Ron," Harry told him. "I didn't break Crabbe's arm but Justin still got attacked because he said I did. I wasn't controlling Ginny, but Dean was still attacked because he said I was. Ginny's a target because everyone else thinks we're together, whether it's true or not."

"But why would she be attacked?" Ron responded. "It's not like you got in some fight with her. All the rest of them were upset with you for some reason."

"That doesn't make sense," Hermione mumbled. Everyone turned to look at her. "Well... We thought that everyone who's been... er... marked has done something to upset Harry, or made to look as if they did." Hermione started listing all of the victims. "Crabbe broke your arm. Millicent spilled her potion on me. Justin was a prat to you. Dean was jealous of you. Snape was... well, himself. Neville argued with you. So what had Susan done?."

Harry tried to remember everything he could, but shook his head. "Nothing. I asked her, and then I walked off. Everyone else figured that she had turned me down."

"But how did the Death Eaters know that would happen? They must have been waiting to attack Susan the moment you left. They couldn't know how everyone would take it, and they must have known that you wouldn't be blamed for it."

"Well... er..." Harry was momentarily confused. "They might have heard us talking, and just sort of hoped..." He trailed off as he realized how improbable it sounded. "Well, the rest all had done something to upset me."

"Dumbledore didn't do anything to upset you," Ginny said.

Harry stared at her. "Who said Dumbledore attacked?"

She gave him a confused look. "You did. Before Christmas. You told me at Christmas dinner that you knew he was attacked, remember? After I told you I could tell he was marked."

"I thought—" Harry said, struggling to understand what she was saying, "—I thought you meant Snape!" Ginny shook her head and quickly explained to Ron and Hermione about how she'd simply _known_ that he was marked on his right hand, the same way she knew that Neville had been marked.

Harry wasn't sure if he was angry or scared or just sick. His stomach seemed to be alternating between tying itself in knots and trying to leap up into his chest. Ron and Hermione were arguing about whether it would help to try and deny the rumor. Harry closed his eyes in an effort to control is stomach.

Dumbledore was the one they'd missed. If it was true, that meant he'd been marked _before_ Snape. He'd upset Harry plenty, but nothing like what the others had done, nothing specific. Could they be thinking about this all wrong? What if the attacks were planned with some other purpose?

_CLUNK!_

Harry's eyes flew open and in a second he was standing with his wand pointed in the direction of the sound.

Seamus was standing by the door, hands raised in surrender and looking terrified. His trunk sat on the floor near the portrait hole. Harry lowered his wand and shook his head. "Sorry, Seamus. I guess I'm still a bit... edgy."

"Er... That's fine, Harry... I er—" he stammered. He shoved his trunk closer to the door. "...er, Yeah," he finished lamely.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked as he looked at the trunk. "A bit early for spring holidays, isn't it?" Seamus took a step away from his trunk, as if he was going to deny that it was even his.

"Wasn't my choice, really... I don't want to, but me Mam wants me to come home a bit early." Seamus looked uncomfortable, and kept eying the door.

"Your mum wants you to come home a _month_ early?" Ron said as he stood and started walking toward Seamus. "This doesn't have anything to do with Neville does it?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"No," Seamus said quickly, then wavered. "Well... not completely. You know how it is, Ron..." Ron assured him he didn't. Seamus gave Harry a guilty look. "It's not like I don't believe you —I do believe you, Harry— it's just that... After Dean and Neville..." Seamus looked almost panicky with Ron standing so close to him.

"And you think you'll be next if you stay?" Ron asked, almost challenging Seamus to agree. "So you're going to leave, and be safe, and I'll stay and move up the queue? Is that it?"

"It's not like that," he said again. "You're Harry's best mate. Hermione is, too. And Ginny too, I guess. He'll protect all of you. Then there's Loony Lovegood, and Katie, and Hannah, and Cho and that Ravenclaw friend of Ginny's that likes him so much. He'll try and protect all of them, too."

Ron just got angrier. "Oh, so you don't think he'll try and protect you? Sure, he's my best mate and he's practically my brother, but he'd try and protect anyone!"

Seamus put his hands out, trying to calm Ron. "I know, Ron," he said, "but he was trying to protect Justin and Dean, too. He can't protect all of us." Ron was silent. "I'm sure my parents are worried that it's dangerous to be around him. Myself, I think he's got enough to worry about without having to protect me."

Seamus turned to look at Harry. "Sorry, Harry. Understand, don't you?" Harry nodded. Ron seemed to accept defeat and nodded as well. He grabbed one side of Seamus' trunk. "Come on then," he said, "We're taking this to the Entrance Hall, are we?"

When the door closed, Harry felt a burning anger rising up inside him. Voldemort's plan, whatever it was, seemed to be working. Only he and Ron would be in their dormitory that night, and Harry was sure that Seamus wasn't going to be the only student who was called home for an early holiday.

As he felt his anger rising, he felt something else. A lightness in his stomach, a tingle in his chest and a slight twinge in his scar. He slammed his fist down on the nearest food basket. There was a slight crack of wood, but it died suddenly. The basket he had struck had disappeared. Hermione's jaw dropped open.

"Did you just..." she started asking, but stopped when she saw Harry's face. "Harry... what's happening with you?"

"Voldemort's winning," he said angrily. "He's doing this to split us up. He's using me against Hogwarts and Dumbledore. Dumbledore won't send me away, but no one else will want to be here. It's working and he's laughing about it."

"You don't know that," Hermione said, hoping to be comforting.

"I do know that, Hermione," Harry said sharply as he stood up, "I can _feel_ it. I'm furious, and Voldemort is _happy_ about it. He knows his plan is working." Harry started walking away, and suddenly Ginny was on her feet and walking after him.

Before Harry could start up the steps to the boys dormitory, she had caught up to him, and grabbed his arm. Harry stopped to look at her, anger and disgust still written across his face. She still looked somewhat pale, but she was peaceful at the same time.

She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight, Harry. Forget about Tom. Dream of happy things," she whispered into his ear. Ginny turned and walked calmly away from him, and up the stairs to the girls dormitories.

Harry felt his stomach relaxing, and a coolness spreading throughout his body. He still had some will left to fight, and he'd start tonight. Harry went up into his room, pulled the curtains around his bed, and relaxed, emptying his mind of all emotion. He would not have any visions that night. He wouldn't allow it.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Last one for tonight. So there are your answers about what was up with Neville. Disappointng perhaps, yet somewhat redeeming.

More fun with Ginny coming soon.


	36. Unspoken Fears

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 36 - Unspoken Fears**

* * *

The next two days passed, surrounded by an uncomfortable tension. No one seemed to say anything to Harry's face, yet he got the impression that everyone was talking about him when he wasn't looking. 

It wasn't that it was terribly new to Harry, in fact it seemed to be the one common thread throughout his time at Hogwarts. It was, perhaps, a new reason, but compared to being thought to be a dark wizard and a compulsive liar, the current topic seemed fairly harmless. Unlike the other two, it was even true.

That, perhaps, was the problem. He couldn't very well try to stop people from talking about it. He couldn't tell them that it was all just a misunderstanding, or that it was some scheme of Fudge's. This time, it was true, and it was current. If there was any good news, it was that it was all done quietly. For the most part, the students seemed content to whisper about it amongst themselves. This could have been out of some amount of respect for Harry, or it could have been out of some amount of fear after the display he and Ginny put on during the dueling demonstration.

Whatever it was, there was one person who it did not affect. Draco Malfoy was the same as ever, and yet he wasn't one of the people talking about him. Instead, when he saw Harry, he would simply stare at Harry with a faintly triumphant smile on his face. If he saw Harry and Ginny together, the smile would occasionally break into a short laugh.

"What do you think you're smiling about?" Ron spat at Draco that Tuesday as they exited the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. They had just finished learning about a variety of Binding Charms and Draco had not had any more luck with them than Ron had. "You're lucky you're here and not stuck in prison with you're father."

"Careful what you say, Weasel. I have more powerful friends than you, now," sneered Draco.

"Oh, yeah? Are they any smarter than Crabbe and Goyle?"

"Clever," Malfoy laughed sarcastically. "You'd best run back to that hovel you call a home, while you still can."

"Shove off, Malfoy," Harry growled.

"Didn't you hear me, Potter?" Draco asked. "You don't frighten me. So why don't you go run off, like you always do." Faster than Harry could react, Malfoy stepped toward him and shoved him. Harry kept himself from falling, but not before he collided with the wall behind him. His bag dropped, spilling a pair of books across the floor.

"You don't feel so invincible anymore, do you?" Draco sneered as Harry picked the books back up. "You'll have to do better than a good Binding Charm if you want to be an Auror. If you make it that long, that is."

"Enough, Malfoy!" Ron shouted. "Leave or we'll take this to McGonagall!"

"How terribly brave, Weasley," spat Draco as he turned to walk away. "I'm sure we'll talk again, we'll see —Hold on. What's this?" Draco's arm shot out and grabbed the chain hanging around Harry's neck. It just have slipped out from under his robes when Malfoy shoved him. Draco yanked it closer and squinted at one of the edges which was worn and tarnished.

"Where did you get this, Potter? Nick this from some Slytherin, or have you been sneaking around in the Slytherin Dungeons again?" Draco smiled and let go of the pendant. "Maybe I'll just tell Professor Snape, and we'll see if he finds anything else of interest in your dormitory.

"Fine," replied Harry. "Go ahead."

Draco scowled at both of them. "That trinket is rubbish, Potter. I'd have expected that of Weasley, but not you. But then, you do have an extra Weasley around you, don't you. Maybe you could give that to her. I hear she's got a certain fondness for snakes," Draco said with a smile. "Of course, I haven't seen her around lately. Have you?"

"And what is that supposed to mean, Malfoy?" Ron shot back at him.

Malfoy just smiled and shrugged. "Nothing, Weasley. Nothing at all." With a short chuckle he turned and walked away with Nott and another of his Slytherin goons.

Ron took one last opportunity to scowl at Malfoy. "Come on, Harry," he said, "we have a Quidditch practice to go to."

* * *

The practice finally gave Harry some time to himself. As he soared above the pitch scanning the sky for any glint or blur that would betray the Snitch's position, the rest of the team whirled and bolted between the goal hoops below him. 

It was relaxing. He was flying. He was alone. No one was talking about him. No one was asking for help. His nightmares didn't exist there. It was just calm and silent, without the blood curdling screams of every victim Voldemort had killed because of him. He was apart from the world. He was safe from it, and it was safe from him. No one was in danger.

He pulled his broom to a stop and just stared down at the pitch. From the height he was at, everything looked so much more peaceful. Flying felt better than sleep now. He was free. No one was bothering him. And he could keep an eye on Ginny.

He took a moment to watch the Chasers zipping around beneath him. Ginny seemed to be doing quite well. She still hadn't reached Katie in skill with the Quaffle, but she was the better flier. She also seemed to be a little distracted today. That was the third time she'd missed the hoops completely. Everyone was a little distracted today, he told himself as Katie missed a pass.

After a hour and a pair of caught Snitches, Harry shot past Ron to catch the Snitch for the third time that afternoon. Katie blew on her whistle and called everyone to the ground.

"I think we've had enough for today. None of us are terribly impressive. We'll get a couple more practices in before the match against Hufflepuff. That shouldn't be too hard. So long as we work a little harder than we did today, I don't think we'll have much trouble."

The team walked off the pitch, but as Katie went for the chest which held the balls, Ron jogged over to talk to her.

"Harry and I will take care of this, Katie," he said with a nod to Harry. "Don't worry about it."

Katie shrugged and thanked Ron before strolling off the pitch to follow the rest of the team. Harry and Ron took only a minute or so to catch both of the Bludgers and put them into the case. Harry put the Snitch in its place as Ron laid the Quaffle in the box and tried to find the correct keys.

Together they lifted the case and headed toward the locker rooms. The last of the players were leaving as Ron and Harry slid the case into its place. As they pulled off their Quidditch gear Ron paused to look at Harry.

"So when are you going to do it?"

Harry stopped and looked at Ron, who had continued to take off the heavy guards wrapped around his forearms. "Do what?"

"You, know. End it," Ron said without looking at Harry.

Harry just stared at Ron quizzically. "End what?"

Ron tossed his guards in a locker and started re-tying his shoes. "You and Ginny," he said very matter-of-factly. "When are you going to end it? I figured you'd wait at least until the I.C.W left, but I don't think the week before our match against Hufflepuff is going to be a good time. I mean, it's not like Hufflepuff has a chance, but why risk it, right?"

Harry stared back at Ron until he stopped talking. "Why would I end it?"

Ron froze and looked back at Harry. "You're joking, right? Did you see what happened to Neville? Of course you did. You saw it better than anyone else."

"What does that have to do with Ginny?"

"What does—" Ron looked shocked. "Do you want that to happen to Ginny? Do you think Voldemort isn't going to find out? Or perhaps it won't occur to him that she'd be the perfect target? If you weren't together it would make it a bit less appealing."

"It's a bit too late for that, Ron," Harry replied. "Not that I'd ever considered it. It wouldn't change anything." Annoyance was starting to creep into Harry's voice, and Ron's answer echoed it.

"Can't hurt either, can it, Harry?"

"She'll be safer if I stay close to her. I can protect her."

Ron pretended to straighten up his locker. "Can you? And where is she, now?" he asked in a falsely friendly tone.

"That's not fair, Ron," Harry replied loudly. "You volunteered me to do this. I wanted to go with her."

"That's the point, isn't it? You can't follow her everywhere she goes. Are you going to give everything up just to make sure she's always safe?"

"If that's what it takes." Harry heard the anger in his voice. He didn't think he'd ever get in another row with Ron, but here he was.

"She'd be safe right now if you'd have just stayed away from her in the first place."

"This wasn't just my idea, Ron," Harry said to Ron through clenched teeth. "Ginny was as much a part of it as I was. _We_ did it. It wasn't something we were trying to do, it just sort of happened."

"It doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Ron slammed his locker shut and walked to the center of the room. "Break up with her," he ordered Harry. "I admit that part of this could be my fault. I used to like the idea, but it's different now and you know it. It never should have started. You knew the danger you were in. You knew it was getting worse, and that she'd end up being pulled into it, too." Ron walked closer to Harry. "You knew Voldemort was coming for you."

"That's got nothing to do with it!"

"It's got everything to do with it!" Ron shouted. "This is your responsibility, Harry. You knew this would happen. You'd have to be blind not to. Now you have to fix it. I don't care what she thinks about it."

Harry was about to shout something nasty back at Ron when he heard a sharp slam of a door. He turned to see Ginny standing in the room, with a calmly threatening look on her face.

"You don't care what _who_ thinks, Ron?"

Ron glared at his sister, then turned back to Harry as if he was expecting Harry to break up with Ginny right then. When Harry said nothing and instead closed his locker and picked up his bag, Ron sighed loudly and turned back to his sister.

"It's nothing, Ginny."

Ginny's eyebrows raised in a mockery of innocent curiosity. She smiled lightly and turned her head. "Harry?" she said lightly, not needing to ask the question.

"It's between Harry and me," Ron growled before Harry could answer.

"You're _lying_, Ronald. I can _tell_," she said acidly. "Harry, is it what I think it is?" Harry ran his hand through his hair, and nodded, saying nothing.

Ginny's eyes narrowed as she stared at Ron. "Goodbye, Ron. I have to talk with Harry."

Harry knew that it would only anger Ron even more, but at the moment he couldn't really care how angry Ron was. He slung his bag over his should and followed Ginny out of the locker room.

Despite what she had told Ron, Ginny didn't say a single word to Harry during the walk back to the castle. Harry was mostly content to let her remain quiet, though before they reached the Gryffindor common room, she had seemingly lost the anger she'd shown Ron. She was hesitant, and balked at walking through the portrait hole before Harry.

She remained equally quiet all through supper, saying only the smallest amount necessary. Ron spoke barely more than she did, and never to Harry. Hermione seemed upset at all three of them, but Ron more than anyone else. For once, he didn't fail to notice that fact. Harry was not eager to deal with any of them, and instead picked lightly at his food.

It would have been bad enough if he only had to deal with his friends' arguments. However, Harry was treated to the extra happiness caused by the gleeful smirks of Draco Malfoy and the fact that Colin and Dennis Creevey had taken it upon themselves to compensate for the lack of conversation provided by Harry and his friends.

It was a rough night for Harry. He spent the night re-reading his Potions text and trying to study the next charms they would be attempting in Transfiguration. Ron and Hermione were sitting in a corner, talking quietly to each other. Judging by the worried looks she occasionally gave Harry, Ron was no doubt explaining just how unfair and irresponsible Harry was being, and how horrible a person he was for not listening to his best friend.

Harry went up to bed early that night. Ginny had left some time before then, speaking only to wish him good night.

* * *

The next day seemed a little better than the last. Ron was less cheerful than he normally was, but it was no longer directed at Ginny and Harry. Hermione was back to herself, though she was intelligently not asking Harry about what happened the previous day. Harry hoped that she'd forced Ron to tell her everything she wanted to know. 

On the outside, Ginny seemed to be ignoring the whole situation. Harry still knew that something was bothering her. She didn't look at him as much as she used to. It was harder to make her smile. She seemed to switch from her cheerful laugh to a reserved quietness too quickly.

He tried to ask her about it, but she'd ignored his questions and changed the subject. The next day was just more of the same, and that night Harry finally gave up. Ginny had acted like she'd almost wanted to talk, but instead she just asked if Harry would stay up and help her with her History of Magic essay.

It was mind-dulling work, but Harry did it. Normally, others might have at least joined them for the company, but few students had the stomach to listen to an extra hour of information about goblin rebellions and stuffy wizards making silly decrees.

Eventually, everyone had gone off to bed, leaving Ginny and Harry alone at their table. Less than a minute after the last student had left, Ginny set aside the parchment her essay was written on, declaring it to be done. Harry looked over it, but couldn't find anything remotely wrong with it.

With a nod, Ginny announced that she was going up to her dormitory. Harry had been tired for over an hour, with only the most boring subject at Hogwarts to keep him awake. Sleep had sounded like a good idea quite a while ago.

To his surprise, Ginny followed behind him as he headed toward the stairs.

"Er... Goodnight, Ginny," Harry said to her at the foot of the stairs. She was acting strangely, like she was confused or distracted by something.

"Yeah, goodnight, I suppose..." she trailed off. She looked up, and her eyes met Harry's. "None of them have died, have they?"

"None of— What are you talking about?"

"You've told me about all of the victims, haven't you? The one's he marked," Ginny said in an artificially calm voice. "How many of them died?"

"Ginny—" Harry started.

"How many of them!" Ginny snapped with such intensity that Harry was caught off guard.

"How many? What—" Harry stammered as he tried to recover. "Don't you remember all those families? The Muggles at King's Cross—"

"Those were different, Harry," she interrupted. "They weren't... weren't marked. They aren't the same," she said, shaking her head as she stared at Harry's chest.

"They _were_ marked. With a bloody great burnt lightning bolt!"

"It was different, Harry. We both know it," she replied. She looked over to the large windows overlooking the grounds. "How many since then?"

"Celeste Warrenton."

Ginny winced as if hearing the name stung her ears. She pressed her lips together and stared up at Harry. "She wasn't marked. That was for Claire, not you. How many did he try to kill because they were connected to you?"

"You know how many," Harry said in a low voice. "This isn't some game to gamble at, this is—"

Before he could finish, Ginny had shoved him against the wall of the staircase. "This is the just the way it is, Harry," she said in a harsh whisper. For a second Harry felt honestly afraid of Ginny. Was Voldemort affecting her as well?

It seemed that Ginny had the same thought, and she backed away almost immediately. "How many, Harry?" she asked, her voice quiet and filled with anxiety. "They all lived, didn't they? There haven't been any others that you haven't told anyone about? No one outside Hogwarts? No one Dumbledore is hiding from us? I've heard about them all? They all lived?"

Harry stared back at her. "Yes, they've all lived —so far."

Ginny slumped against the wall across from Harry, and whispered to herself: "...but at what price?"

"Ginny, we don't know that you're—"

"_They_ don't know, Harry," Ginny said with a nod toward the stairs, "but we do," she finished, her voice returning to the same passive tone she'd been using. "You don't want to admit it, but you feel it just the same as I do. You can feel _him_. You know he's working on a plan. That's why you've been trying to follow me everywhere. That's why you keep the Map in your robes and why you and Ron were fighting."

"I worry about everyone who's close to me," Harry countered. "I think that's what Voldemort wants. He wants Dumbledore and I to be so distracted that we won't be ready when the real attack comes. He wants everyone to be so afraid of a couple Death Eaters in the forest that we don't notice the rest of them sneaking into the Ministry. He doesn't need to attack anyone so long as he keeps everyone thinking that they might be next."

"You're probably right," Ginny agreed. She turned and started walking toward the stairs to her dormitory. "Justin is alright, though?"

Harry tried to hide his annoyance. "Except for a great bloody scar across his neck? Yeah, he'll be okay, I guess."

"And Susan? She'll walk again?"

"Pomfrey says she should be walking in a week or so." Harry didn't like the way Ginny was asking these questions, but he answered them honestly nonetheless.

"And Neville will be alright in the end. I know he will. It'll just take time..." Ginny seemed to relax a bit and the nervousness that Harry had seen in her the last few days seemed to melt away. "I'll be alright, too. I just—"

"Ginny, don't say that," Harry interrupted. "You're safe with me. They won't attack me. I'll protect you. I won't let them get to you." Ginny's face brightened into one of the first genuine smiles Harry had seen since the Ball.

"I know you will, Harry. That's the only thing I'm afraid of anymore."

With that Ginny turned and walked up the stairs gracefully, as if she had left all her worries behind her.

* * *

Over the next few days Harry tried to keep a closer eye on Ginny. At first he thought he was simply imagining it, but after enough time he began to notice the small changes. 

Ginny seemed to spend almost every moment outside the Gryffindor common room in the company of at least two other people. When she left the castle, her eyes would scan the area around her constantly. At first Harry thought she was simply being cautious, but over time he realized that she wasn't acting nervous or afraid. It looked instead like she were simply searching for something. Or someone.

It occurred to him that she might have realized that she was being watched. He'd caught the occasional disgusted look from her as he took pointless detours throughout his day to follow her through the corridors.

He needed to try and be a bit more discrete. He would only upset Ginny if she found out he was following her. The Invisibility Cloak would certainly fix that, but it would be much more difficult to use during the day. There were simply too many students around. So he decided he'd have to find ways to watch her without her knowing. The idea made him feel slightly guilty, but he needed to be certain that she was safe.

The obvious answer was the Marauder's Map. He could easily watch her whenever he was away from other students with it. When students were around, he would just have to settle for watching from a distance, or simply letting himself be seen.

He found the Map to be somewhat less useful than he had hoped. Ginny spent most of her time outside class either in the Great Hall, the library or the Gryffindor common room. During the day, there were few times that Harry was able to use the Map. The one best method he had was the Tower itself. From his dormitory, he was able to see quite a bit of the grounds, and he began spending more time looking out of it.

Slowly he began to see new patterns that worried him. He began to catch Ginny walking alone in situations where she never had before. One night she stayed back after Care of Magical Creatures to help Hagrid, and Harry watched as she walked from the edge of the forest back to the castle completely alone.

With the Map he caught her walking alone through the corridors on a number of occasions. She wasn't doing anything dangerous, usually just trips to the library or the Great Hall. Yet this only happened if he wasn't there to see it.

The conclusion was fairly obvious. Ginny knew that Harry had been watching her, and she was trying to convince him that she was being safe. When he wasn't around, however, she acted as if nothing were wrong. It was annoying and worrisome. She needed to take her own security more seriously. Once again, Harry returned to following her around. If that was the only way to make sure that she was safe, he'd simply endure whatever angry looks she gave him.

Other than those times when Harry's activities became embarrassingly obvious to her, Ginny's spirits seemed to have brightened from the temporary depression she'd fallen into after Neville had been attacked. It had become quite common for the two of them to spend the nights sitting together at a table, or on a couch. It didn't seem to matter if they were each working on essays, or if they were trying to teach Andrew Kirke's cat new games to play. Nights were simply more enjoyable with Ginny around.

Their relationship had become much less complicated now that everyone knew about them. Ron would still get annoyed at the two of them if they were ever simply enjoying themselves, but it was much less stressful than having to constantly worry about smiling or laughing too much. The freedom from Hermione's disapproving stares was worth it alone.

The days quickly fell into a pattern that Harry had come to accept. He'd try to keep as close an eye on Ginny as he could during the day, and at night they'd sit together in the Gryffindor common room. Ginny never mentioned the fact that Harry followed her, and he never reminded her of the danger they knew she was in.

As the next round of Quidditch matches approached, they spent more and more time at the pitch practicing and running all manner of drills. Some practices ran all the way to sundown, prompting Hermione to stop showing up to watch. After every practice, Harry would wait to walk back with Ginny and Ron would make certain to join them.

After one particular practice, not long before the upcoming match against Hufflepuff, Ginny had been walking back to the castle with Ron and Harry when a piece of parchment dropped from her bag. Harry spotted it immediately, and stopped to pick it up. It was just a scrap, but written on it in flowing script was a simple message:

_The office — 8 p.m._

"I think you, er... dropped this," he said as he handed it back to Ginny.

She feigned surprise as she stuffed it back in her pocket. "Oh, thank you, Harry," she said with a smile. "That was more important than it looked."

Ron barely noticed, but Harry got the message clear enough. Ginny needed to talk to him. Or rather, she wanted to be alone with him for a while. Harry tried not to blush at the thought. It had been quite a while since they'd been alone. There had been spare moments here and there when they'd been left alone, but nothing that didn't carry the worry of having Ron suddenly appear.

Harry left for the abandoned office well before eight o'clock. It had become something of a standard plan for them. They would always separate the times they left, and provide different excuses for their absences. It certainly wouldn't fool everyone, and even Ron could have guessed what was going on, but none of them would be able to find them either. Harry kept the Marauder's Map on him at all times.

He sat on the window seat as usual and waited patiently for Ginny to show up. He checked his watch, and only started to get a little nervous when eight o'clock came and passed. At ten minutes past eight, Ginny finally slipped into the office, flashed a smile at Harry, then locked and soundproofed the door.

"It's been a while since we've been able to be alone," Harry commented cheerily when she'd finished.

"I know," Ginny replied flatly. She turned and Harry felt confused. She looked annoyed and possibly angry.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you have to follow me everywhere I go?" Ginny asked as she walked over to the window seat and sat next to Harry.

"But... I thought you liked walking back to the castle with me?"

"I do. That's not the problem. The problem is you visiting Hagrid for no reason just to follow me to the greenhouses, or running to the library between classes because you know I'm headed for Charms." Harry sat silently. He didn't know how to respond. Ginny frowned at him and rubbed her eyes. "Why, exactly, are you doing that?"

Harry turned to face her. "I'm trying to protect you."

"Right, and I appreciate that, I really do," Ginny said as she reached out to hold Harry's hand, "but if you want me to be safe you have to stop."

"When I stopped you started walking around all by yourself."

"Nothing is going to stop Tom from attacking me, Harry. I'm not going to lock myself in my dormitory to stay safe. Whoever is attacking the students is following _you_, Harry. Maybe they're following me now, too. There's nothing I can do about that. But we both know that someone is paying attention to everything you do, and everywhere you go."

Harry understood and began feeling foolish almost immediately. He had been leading the Death Eaters to all of the victims. All of the time he'd spent following Ginny was simply proving just how much he cared about Ginny.

"It's unavoidable now, isn't it?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Ginny didn't respond. She gave him a small smile, and ran her fingers though his disorganized hair. After a minute or so, she slid over next to Harry, and put her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to think about that right now. Between classes and homework and my prat of a brother we never get to spend time alone. Let's not waste this with stupid talk about what Tom and his pointless plans."

So they sat and talked about whatever they wanted. Ginny leaned against him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. There was some kissing, but for the most part they simply sat and talked about whatever they wished, without any thought or concern over who would overhear them or what anyone might think.

* * *

The night of the Gryffindor team's last practice before their match (the Slytherin and Ravenclaw teams had booked the pitch for both of the following nights) was a cold and windy night. When the team finally walked back into the Common Room, they found Hermione sitting quietly by the fire stroking Crookshanks and reading a ridiculously large textbook. 

"It's 'Detection Spells for Defensive Situations'," she informed them when Ron asked about it. "I figured as long as I had some spare time, I should learn some spells which might help Harry."

"Yeah, well I hope you weren't hoping I would learn them tonight," Harry said as he flopped down on the couch across from the fire. Ginny sat next to him, and Ron glared at her while sitting in a chair facing Hermione.

"The Snitch kept flying into the clouds," Ginny explained with a small smile. "Poor Harry," she said in a theatrically sad voice, "It took four Drying Charms to get him back to normal. He only just stopped complaining about it."

Harry smiled back at Ginny. Practice had been miserable. He'd caught the Snitch several times, but it kept soaring into the low clouds over the pitch, drenching Harry in freezing mist as he chased after it. He was looking forward to a long bit of sleep tonight.

A group of fifth years walked over to Ginny, each politely greeting Harry. Harry just smiled. They asked Ginny if she wanted to start revisions for O.W.L.s with them, but she declined just as politely as they asked, saying that she was too exhausted. Hermione tried to keep her annoyance to a minimum.

"If you want, you can borrow some of my notes from last year. Whenever you start studying for the O.W.L.s, that is. Or have you started already?" she asked, trying to sound cheery.

Ginny reclined into the couch and looked into the fire, thoughtfully. "Do you think it's worth it? Studying, I mean."

"Worth it?" Hermione gasped.

Ron however, was laughing. "That's the right attitude, Ginny. They're not worth it."

Hermione had sat up, annoying Crookshanks who leapt over to Ginny's lap. "How else will you get into all the classes you'll need?" she asked.

"Wait," Ron said as he sat up. "How do you know what classes she'll need?" Harry's eyes were closed, but he was listening with some amusement. He turned to Ron with his eyes still closed,

"Probably because Ginny told her, Ron."

"She didn't tell me." Ron was crestfallen. Harry laughed again. "Well, she didn't tell me, either. I'm feeling more and more like family every year." Ron wasn't laughing, but he did crack a smile.

"Not close enough, obviously," he said in a disgusted voice. Harry didn't see Ron's smile, but he could hear it through his voice.

Harry's mood was picking up. "Ron and I did okay, and we didn't spend every spare minute studying. In fact, if I were you, I'd skip the Potions exam. It's not worth it. You'll do just fine without another two years of Snape."

"Maybe Ginny has higher ambitions than just _fine_," huffed Hermione. "Some rather important careers need N.E.W.T. level Potions, and she's not going to get that if she doesn't study." Ron laid back and stretched his long legs across the floor. "Well, she's not going to get it if she's gone mad after months of studying either."

Hermione just shook her head and ignored him. She leaned forward, and spoke in a calm voice. "I know it's a little intimidating, but it's really better if you get a good head start," she said wisely. "That way, you won't be driving yourself mad at the last minute like everyone else."

"Oh, it isn't that," Ginny said looking at her feet. "I... well... I just don't know if it's worth my time now. I'm afraid there are more important things I should be worrying about than trying to remember the names of all the stars in the Spring sky. I don't even know if I'll be able to take the exams."

"Why wouldn't you?" questioned Hermione.

"Well we don't even know if Neville will come back before the end of term. If this was his fifth year, he'd probably end up taking the O.W.L.s over the summer holidays. Dean still can't see. I won't be taking the exams if I can't see."

Harry sighed loudly. "Not this again, Ginny..." he complained. He had been feeling happy for a change. Why couldn't he have a single week of happiness? Even Ron didn't want to think of it. He'd covered his head with his arms, trying to block out the impending discussion.

"Why not, Harry?" Ginny replied. "It's not going away."

"We know what's going on now," Hermione said. "We'll protect you." Ginny let out a bitter laugh.

"Right. We know what he's doing, so we're all set? We've known what he was doing for a while, but it didn't help us protect Dean, or Susan, or Neville."

Harry's eyes opened, and he glared at Ginny. "I tried to protect Dean and Susan," he growled, "and Neville... well, there wasn't much any of us could do."

"He was safe for a while, and he would have been safe even longer if he'd done as you told him," agreed Ginny. "but you couldn't protect him forever. Tom would have waited and you just couldn't follow him everywhere."

Harry stared at Ginny. Was she still talking about Neville? Through her calm, even voice Harry detected a hint of restrained fear. She was talking about herself. Harry sat up and looked directly at her. "I tried. You can't just give up."

"It's only a matter of time. Don't you see it?" she asked with forced serenity. "They'll come for all of us," she added matter-of-factly. Ron sat up in his chair.

"What? Why?"

"Open your eyes, Ronald Weasley. Tom Riddle isn't daft. He was one of the brightest wizards Hogwarts has seen, and he's smarter now than he ever was," Ginny said as she rubbed Crookshanks. "He has a plan, and it's working."

"It's working?" Ron said incredulously. "His plan is to attack a bunch of students? The only thing he's really accomplished is giving Harry more bad dreams."

"What's next?" Ron scoffed, "Smuggling in dodgy cauldrons and hoping that someone burns down the Potions classroom? He's _diabolical_, that one."

"This isn't a joke, Ron," Hermione said sternly.

"I think it is," he replied forcefully. "He still hasn't done anything. He's only attacked a few students and some families. It isn't near the terror the Order told us the last time was. I think it's just like Harry and Lupin said: He's waiting for something." Hermione tried to interrupt, but Ron kept talking.

"There are... two Death Eaters we've seen? He's probably got the rest of them bottled up somewhere, doing something really horrible like making a vampire army or training all the brutish giants to kill wizards or... er—"

"Reading books," Harry said.

Ron stared at Harry. "Well, I guess I figured they'd be doing something a bit more violent than curling up with a nice adventure story, but—"

"What do you mean, Harry?" Hermione finally interrupted.

"Whenever I saw them, they were reading books," he said flatly. "They were always in rooms packed with great stacks of books." Hermione looked confused, but said nothing.

"I bet we'll know why when we see it," Ron said. "I'm telling you, this is all just some sick diversion."

Ginny disagreed. "The Tom Riddle I knew didn't waste his time with diversions. If you ask me, I think this _is_ the plan. Right now, there are a number of people in St. Mungo's injured in ways that no one's seen before."

Ron still didn't see it. "So? Are you saying he's been spending all his time demonstrating whatever bizarre hexes he learned from some old hag in Albania? Seems like a waste of time to me."

"Look at what's happening, Ron!" Ginny almost shouted. "How many people sleep in your dormitory now? How many people have quit the D.A.? He's making everyone afraid. He's trying to split us apart, but he's doing it so slowly that no one will notice until it's too late. The first ones were just to distance everyone from Harry, but not the last ones. He's attacking people closer and closer to Harry each time. The students aren't avoiding Harry because they think he's the one behind the attacks anymore. They're staying away because they know Voldemort is targeting anyone who gets close to Harry. Voldemort is ripping Hogwarts apart from the inside, and it's only a matter of time before it'll be my turn."

"We don't know that, Ginny," Hermione said, trying to be helpful.

Ginny smiled back at her. "Harry does. So do I. He didn't tell us everything about the last attack." Ron and Hermione were silent. Ginny turned to look at Harry, who was staring at her.

"Who's next, Harry?" Ginny asked calmly. "What did Voldemort tell you while Bellatrix was hexing Neville? You said he told you it was a _gift_. What did Neville do that made Voldemort want to give him a gift?"

Harry glared at Ginny. She must have already figured it out. She'd probably figured it out as soon as Harry had.

When Harry still didn't say anything, Hermione spoke up. "We all know what being Harry's friend means. We were all with him in the Department of Mysteries. We're in the Order now. None of us will be safe until Voldemort is gone forever. You can't just give up and wait to be attacked."

"I never said I was giving up. I think I'm _accepting_ it right now," Ginny said with a nervous nod. She turned to Hermione. "What will you do when it's your turn?" she inquired. Everyone was silent, and eventually Ginny sat back, looking a little shaken. She sat quietly for a short time, then slowly stood up and walked toward the stairs to her dormitory.

"Ginny?" Harry called to her as he sat up. She stopped and turned around to smile at him. Harry swallowed hard. "Don't... Don't do anything stupid."

Ginny's face twisted in confusion. "I don't think I know what I could do that would be stupid, Harry," she said.

"You know what I mean."

Ginny nodded and looked away. "You're right. Susan only lost the use of her legs, but Katie would kill me if I missed the match against Hufflepuff. I'll see you tomorrow, Harry." She turned and walked up the stairs as calmly as if she'd just had a chat with her friends.

"I'm worried about her, Harry," Hermione said.

Harry stood and walked toward his dormitory.

"I know."

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Alright, more chapters for reading. Following tradition, some review responses:

_Lazlo and the Dragons_: Lot's of people seemed to have liked this inclusion. I'm glad. It was just a little bit of fun that I tossed in. It wasn't supposed to be terribly subtle, but it was worth a bit of a chuckle.

_Poor Neville_: Love can be a blinding thing, and it can be a dangerous thing when it empowers us to act without thinking. Neville pretty much spells out the reasons for his behavior. In the end, it was clear where his loyalties lied, but until then, he was manipulated by his own infatuation.

_Forced Visions_: You should be concerned about the escalation and ease with which Harry is getting his visions. Harry is just as concerned.

_(From krissygurl) Update Soon_: Gee. And I thought 35 chapters in about... six days (Has it only been that long?) was pretty good. I guess I'll see what I can do.

_My first critical review_: It contained a number of decent points, all of which I've considered before I even posted the first chapter. Some of Harry's decisions require the reader to simply accept what the story says. He normally is proactive, but at the end of OotP, being proactive got Sirius killed. By the time that he recovers from that, he no longer has any idea how to be proactive about the current threat. That is the whole point. How do you be proactive against someone who isn't even attacking you? Still, it is a valid point. All I can say is that I realize it is there, and that I purposefully wrote it that way. Feel free to disagree. Similar things can be said about Harry's decisions to keep Ginny a secret and his decision to go to the ball. Being a teenager, he simply never imagined going to the Ball without a date, but going with Ginny felt too risky for him. Whether that is valid is less important than whether Harry feels its valid. That's just fiction for you. And again, with the Order keeping things from him, I intended it to be more along the lines of them fearing Harry would do something horribly irresponsible, as he often has in the past. They kept him in the dark so that he wouldn't have a reason to be stupid. That's just how its written. I may go rewrite some sections to make that clearer.

Finally, I understand that the plot can get a bit complex. It's meant to be complex, though I don't really have a good idea of how complex it really is. When we all get to the end, everything that is interesting should be explained. Well... almost everything. I had to end the story somewhere.

A Warning:

The plot is picking up quite a bit now. If the tone of this chapter wasn't an indication, take note that there won't be much in the way of 'fun chapters' occuring anytime soon. I've been quite pleased at the various readers who've expressed strong emotions toward the characters. For those of you who are more sensitive than others, I might suggest running out to buy some chocolate before you read any further. I hear that dark chocolate has more Make-You-Happy-Chemicals than milk chocolate, and the local Safeway had a sale on Hershey's Dark Chocolate Nuggets. Not that I'm saying you have to. It's just a suggestion.


	37. The Oak Tree

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 37 - The Oak Tree**

* * *

The week crawled slowly toward the weekend, and Harry might have even forgotten about the Quidditch matches if Katie hadn't been reminding them every few hours. Unlike other matches, Gryffindor wouldn't get any time to prepare on Friday, since Ravenclaw would be playing Slytherin in an afternoon match. 

Still, it was easier than having another double match on Saturday, and it had the added benefit of getting Harry out of Transfiguration early. All of the professors were releasing their classes early in the hope that the match would be finished before the sun went down.

Harry tried to enjoy himself, but Ginny was still behaving with the same melancholy cheer she'd had all week. She sat quietly and almost stiffly and didn't give much attention to the match. It made Harry feel uncomfortable. Everyone around them sensed the difference, and purposefully avoided looking at or talking to either of them. Even Ron and Hermione, who were sitting just behind them,

The match should have been more interesting. Again, the Slytherin Chasers were outmatched and they were forced to rely upon Crabbe and Goyle to give them any opportunities to score. Unlike their match against Gryffindor, this time they actually had opposing Beaters to deal with. After only a short time it looked as if Draco would soon be trapped in yet another impossible-to-win game.

With a ninety point lead, Ravenclaw was firmly in control of the match, and it became a race to find the Snitch. With the Slytherin Beaters focusing on the opposing Chasers, Cho Chang's job was much easier than Harry's had been. Without Draco even noticing, she had spotted the Snitch and was already closing the distance to it.

Malfoy gave it a good try, but there was never much hope for him. With the large lead they had, the Ravenclaw Beaters took control of the Bludgers and batted them repeatedly toward Malfoy. When Cho caught the Snitch he hadn't even been on the right half of the pitch. He landed and stormed off the pitch without even waiting for any of his teammates.

After the match, Katie called a team meeting and she shared quite a bit of information that Cho had apparently told her about the Hufflepuff team, though they scarcely needed it. Hufflepuff was good, but their Seeker simply wasn't good enough. Still, Katie treated it as if there was some question over which team might win.

The Ravenclaw team spent the night celebrating in their common room and the Slytherin team didn't show up at the evening meal either. Katie had demanded that everyone on the Gryffindor team get to sleep early, and it seemed that the Hufflepuff team had the same idea. It made for a rather quiet and completely uneventful dinner. Harry passed most of the time after dinner with the essay McGonagall had assigned, before heading up to the boys' dormitory.

The next morning seemed to be nearly perfect Quidditch weather. It was dry and calm, with a high cover of hazy clouds: enough light to keep the Snitch from hiding in shadows, but not enough to make him have to squint to simply look about.

After turning in early the previous night, the Quidditch team was some of the first people awake in Gryffindor Tower. Harry found that he was less nervous for this match than any other he could remember. There simply didn't seem to be any pressure. Ron still seemed a little jittery, and both of the Beaters were looking rather tense, but the rest of the team was fairly relaxed.

After lunch, everyone headed out to the Quidditch pitch and Harry got ready in the locker rooms with the rest of the team. Katie didn't say much, having said enough over the last three days to fill a dozen pre-match meetings. When McGonagall showed up at the door, they were all prepared, and they followed her out onto the pitch.

The match wasn't going quite as well as Harry had hoped. Kirke and Sloper seemed to be doing a little better than they did against the Slytherins, but still not quite up to the level of the Hufflepuff Beaters. Between that and the mediocre performance of their Chasers, the Gryffindor team was actually trailing by ten points. Of course, none of that would matter as soon as Harry found the Snitch.

As if it knew just how good the conditions were, the Snitch had been infuriatingly difficult to catch so far. Harry had spotted it three times already (Summerby had only seen it once), but each time it vanished before he could even turn his broom around. Summerby wasn't even shadowing him like Draco liked to. He was using an old Nimbus two-thousand, and must have known he'd have no shot of beating Harry's Firebolt to the Snitch.

As Harry waited for the Snitch to make another appearance, he took a few moments to watch the game below him. They had let Hufflepuff get a full forty point lead on them, and Harry was curious about why. Ron seemed to be doing better than ever, blocking and saving shot after shot. After only a short time the problem became obvious. The Gryffindor Chasers were unable to stop the opposing Chasers from sending Quaffle after Quaffle toward Ron. Katie seemed to be doing fairly well, but Vicky Frobisher was struggling to keep up with everyone else, and Ginny was flying erratically and diving at some very obvious feints. She was sluggish and distracted.

Harry leaned forward and sped up. He'd best find the Snitch soon. He hoped that the higher speeds would make it more likely that he'd stumble across the Snitch as it flitted between shadows. With Gryffindor trailing by fifty points, he finally spotted it zipping across the pitch just above the grass.

Summerby was oblivious but closer than he was, so Harry sped up only slightly and turned a little tighter to cross the pitch a little quicker. The Snitch turned to head away from him, but Harry kept a close eye on it. He slowly accelerated, turning in a wide circle around it.

The Snitch stopped, paused for a moment, and then veered off wildly, heading for the stands. Not wanting to lose it against the sky, Harry leaned forward and shot off toward it. By time the Hufflepuff Seeker realized what was happening, it was too late. The Firebolt was too fast, and Harry had reached the stands before the Snitch and grabbed it out of the air as it turned back toward the Gryffindor goal hoops.

They'd won by a hundred points, but Katie was less than pleased. Only Harry and Ron were spared in the post-match scolding on the way back to the castle. Ginny was the one most upset by Katie's criticism, and she made no excuses or arguments about anything that was said. In fact, Harry couldn't remember her saying anything at all.

There had been a celebration when they got back to the Gryffindor common room. It wasn't as loud or boisterous as others, since the victory had been seen as everything but guaranteed before the Quaffle was even tossed. Also, since Ravenclaw had won their match, Gryffindor could have lost and still won the cup so long as they defeated Ravenclaw the next month. Katie even managed to drop some of her anger over the performance, and congratulate all of them on another win.

Harry tried to cheer Ginny up, reminding her that everything had turned out well, and that everyone had the occasional bad match. It didn't seem to help, but she did enjoy the company.

* * *

"I swear I had that essay in my bag. I put it there last night," Harry complained as he tossed parchment and books out of his bag and across the floor. He let out a frustrated groan as he dumped all of the contents onto the floor. He found a spare quill he'd lost, and a few sickles, but no essay. 

Ron looked at him with pity. "You can copy bits of mine if you like," he offered. Hermione cast a sidelong glance at Ron. She had her nose in her Arithmancy book and was periodically scratching numbers onto a piece of parchment.

"That'll work brilliantly, Ron," Harry said as he ran his hand through his hair. "My essay is supposed to be about Lumination Charms, but I'm sure Flitwick won't even notice the bits about Levitation Charms."

Ron shrugged. "Sorry. Forgot about that."

Harry was forced to start his essay from blank parchment. With a resigned sigh, he sat down across from Hermione and started writing. Disappointed that he didn't have anyone who could even make winning enjoyable, Ron decided to play Exploding Snap with a pair of third years.

Despite barely knowing his opponents, it looked as though Ron enjoyed the game. The boy and his friend seemed to be almost proud that Ron was playing with them. He was, after all, a sixth year, a prefect, and the Gryffindor Keeper.

Harry smiled at the scene. That was the way Ron was supposed to be. He should have been as popular as Harry was, but everyone seemed to notice Harry first. All because of some silly mistake.

"Why aren't you over with Ron?" Ginny asked as she walked up behind him.

Harry finished a line and put down his quill. "I lost my Charms essay. I have to completely rewrite it." Ginny frowned. "Sorry," she said sympathetically. Harry just shook his head. "It could've been worse. At least I found out before Flitwick asked for it."

Ginny sat next to Harry, resting her head on her hands. She didn't say anything, she just watched Harry write, occasionally pointing out errors in his essay. He had to admit, writing an essay was easier with help from Ginny and Hermione. It was going faster than the last one had, and would probably get a better mark.

He found it a little disappointing when Ginny yawned and sat up. She stood up, and kissed Harry lightly on the cheek. "I think I'm off to bed. Goodnight Harry." Hermione gave her a strange look, but returned to her reading.

Harry's eyes followed Ginny as she walked over to where Colin and Dennis Creevey were attempting to learn wizard chess. Harry could hear her asking Colin if he would return a book to the Library for her. With a shrug, he agreed, taking his brother with him. Ginny disappeared up the stairs a moment later.

"Is she going to sleep already?" Ron asked as he walked over to the table. Harry kept working on his essay, but Hermione nodded, adding that Ginny had seemed tired that night.

"She's been acting a bit odd all day," he said, finally drawing Harry's attention. When Harry asked what he was talking about, Ron glanced over his shoulder to the stairs up the girls dormitories. "First off, she shouldn't be tired. She skived off her first class. Sleeping. Then, she asked to borrow your cloak to sneak into the Greenhouses and take some notes for some Herbology essay. Now she's off to bed earlier than normal, after she overslept this morning?"

Hermione looked up from her book, seemingly a little annoyed at the intrusion. "Maybe she's not feeling well, Ron," she said before returning to her book. Harry, however, thought Ron had a point. "Can you check on her, Hermione?" he asked. "Just to make sure she's alright?"

"Yes, I suppose," sighed Hermione. "I'll just finish this chapter, alright?"

Harry tried to get back to his essay, but his mind kept wondering if something had changed since yesterday. Had she seen or felt something that had her worried? Harry was no stranger to restless sleep, and knew how tiring it made even the shortest days.

The portrait opened with a creak and Colin and Denis entered, letting the door close behind them. Harry turned back to his essay. He didn't want to be up all night writing this essay. If only Ginny were still helping him. He kept forgetting the points he'd put in his other essay, but Ginny had been helping him remember any he'd missed.

Half an hour later, Harry finished up his essay. It truly was better than the first. He put his quill down and looked at his watch. It was earlier than he thought. Why had Ginny gone to bed so early? His eyes wandered back to where Colin and Dennis were playing chess. Maybe Ginny had told them something. He gave in to his curiosity and went over to talk to them.

Colin told him that Ginny had seemed fine earlier that day, but she'd told them that she was feeling tired and wanted to go off to bed. "It didn't seem all that odd to me. Was it?" He asked Harry. Harry just shrugged. "At least, it wasn't as odd as sending us to return a book she checked out this morning. It's not like Pince would have cared if she turned it in tomorrow."

Harry stared at them. Something wasn't right. He could feel it, though he didn't know exactly what felt off. He took the Map out of his pocket and scanned the school. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. He walked over to the table where Hermione had pushed aside her book to talk with Ron.

"Something isn't right," he said in a low voice. "I think Ginny knew something is up. That's why she was acting oddly."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, then at Harry. They dutifully stood up. "What should we do about it?" Ron asked. Harry thought for a second, before deciding that it was pointless to do anything without hearing what Ginny had to say. "I need to talk to Ginny."

Hermione walked off and climbed the stairs to the fifth-year dormitories. Ron watched as Harry paced in the corner of the common room. Several of the other students were eying the two of them suspiciously. They'd learned that when Harry was behaving oddly, something bad was usually about to happen. Many of them attempted to appear casual as they slunk off to their dormitories.

What do I do, Harry asked himself. It's not like he could tell the Aurors that he felt funny, and they should lock down Hogwarts. He didn't even know if Hogwarts was in any danger at all. He wanted to have a bit of a look for himself.

"I'll need my cloak," he said to Ron as he paced.

Ron stared back at him and shook his head. "You'll have to get it from Ginny," he replied. "She never gave it back to me. And knowing what her room looked like, you'll be lucky if she can find it tonight, much less—"

Ron stopped and spun on his heels. Hermione was bounding down the stairs toward them.

"Harry! Harry... she's not there."

"She's— What?" Harry didn't know what question to ask. "Well, she didn't leave the Common Room. We were here the whole time."

"Harry..." Ron said quietly. "She still has your cloak." Harry looked around wildly, as if he might somehow see her. His eyes finally rested on Hermione, and silently pleaded for assistance.

"Well, what do you want me to say, Harry?" Hermione replied testily. "_You're_ the one with the Map."

Harry pulled the Map out a second time. This time he scanned it for any sign of Ginny. Even if she was wearing the cloak she'd appear on the map.

She wasn't on the map. Anywhere.

Harry dropped it, and stared at Hermione and Ron. An icy dread crept through his body. He slowly closed his eyes, afraid to discover what he might see if he tried.

He saw only the swirling blackness of his own eyelids. Was it because there was nothing to see, or because he wasn't able to see it? Voldemort was always doing something. Harry walked to a darker part of the room, covered his eyes with his hand and tried again.

Again, he saw only blackness and the random shapes of his imagination. He tried to see something that might tell him what might be going on. The shadows swirled and danced. And then, Harry thought that he could see something. A dull glow. It seemed to flicker and fade, then blaze forth again. Long shapes like a crowd of dark robed figures kept obscuring the light. Harry tried to make out the scene he was seeing.

_Tap-tap-tap_

A loud tapping startled Harry. He opened his eyes and on the other side of the large window was Hedwig, standing on the ledge asking to be let in. Harry opened the widow quickly and Hedwig flew into the room with a loud screech. She circled once before landing on a table near Harry, dropping a large bundle.

Harry ran to the table to open the bundle. Hermione and Ron joined him. Thinking it might be some gift, a few of the remaining Gryffindors walked over to see what Hedwig had brought.

Harry recognized the bulk of the bundle immediately. It was his Invisibility Cloak, folded neatly and wrapped around a couple rolls of parchment. Harry grabbed one, and Hermione grabbed the other. He quickly stuffed the Cloak into his nearby bag, and tossed a warning glance at anyone who might get curious about it.

"Harry—" Hermione said.

"Hold on, Hermione," Harry stopped her. "Let me see what this is first." The roll of parchment in his hand wasn't of they type usually used for writing letters. As he unrolled it, he recognized it almost immediately.

"Harry—" Hermione interrupted again.

"Hold on!" he said as he scanned over the roll. "This is... This is my Charms essay. The one I thought I'd lost. It's got marks on it. Someone's corrected bits of it—"

"HARRY!" Hermione finally shouted.

Harry turned to look at her. Ron was standing nearby, completely silent and holding a wand in one hand, and a necklace with a pendant that glowed light a tiny orange flame. Hermione handed him a piece of parchment with a hastily scrawled note on it:

_Harry,_

_I borrowed your Cloak and knife this morning. I needed them to get past the Aurors. I won't need the cloak anymore, but I wanted it to be safe, so I had to borrow Hedwig as well. I'm sorry about your essay. I felt horrible, so I checked over it for you. Of course, the one you wrote tonight was better, but it's only fair that you know the truth._

What was this for? Where had she gone?

_I don't know what is going to happen, but I thought it would be better if you kept my wand safe. I sent the necklace, too. It means a lot to me, and I don't want anything to happen to it. I'll keep the knife for now. No matter what you see, please promise me you'll stay in the common room until it's over. I'm sorry. I'll be alright, I promise. Just come quick when it's over._

_Love,_

_Ginny_

Harry stumbled and held onto the table. He felt like... _laughing_. His stomach tightened as he tried to fight the emotion. It wasn't his. It was Voldemort's happiness he was feeling, and it was overpowering his own anger and panic. In his mind, he saw more images flashing before him.

Ron and Hermione watched silently, frozen with shock as Harry struggled to get back to his feet. The other students retreated, some of them pulling their wands out as if it might protect them.

"What are you seeing, Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry gave her a dazed, empty look. "A fire in the dark... Trees... It's always trees..." Harry wandered over to the window. "Someone is sitting by a fire... under a large tree—" Harry shook his head as he choked out the final words.

"She has red hair."

Ron ran towards Harry. "Where is she, Harry? We have to help her!" He looked angry and desperate.

Harry closed his eyes again, but opened them almost immediately this time. "The tree!" he shouted, turning back to the window. He pressed his face up to the glass, straining to look for the tell-tale red sparks of an Auror who'd seen something suspicious. There was nothing. They didn't know. No one did.

"NO!" Harry yelled, as anger coursed through him, a blinding, mindless rage.

_C-CRACK!_

The several panes in the large glass window had cracked violently and splinters from the wood framing fell down on him. Harry backed away from the window as Ron and Hermione backed away from him.

Without any other words, Harry's wand was out and pointed toward the stairs to the boy's dormitories. Students scrambled out of the way, fearing the consequences of standing in front of Harry's wand.

"_Accio Firebolt!_" he shouted. Seconds later his Firebolt zipped down the stairs and slammed into his hand.

"Where are you going, Harry?" Hermione asked, "We have to tell someone!"

Harry ignored her. If he could see Ginny, it meant that Death Eaters were watching her. He turned and looked out the window toward the front gate. It would take him too long to get to one of the towers. With his Firebolt in his hand, the strode toward the fractured window. At the last moment, he held out his hand, and concentrated all his anger, all his fear, and all his desire to protect Ginny on the window.

The window exploded outward, showering the courtyard below with shards of glass and splinters of wood. Harry leapt out of the window a second later, and flew with all the speed he could toward the main gates.

As he flew, he saw the red and green glows of sparks in the air alerting Aurors to the emergency. They were probably gathering to try and stop him, but that would bring them to Ginny as well.

He felt himself getting dizzy and tired. In his mind, he heard voices talking. He wanted to close his eyes and see what was going on, but he needed them open to fly. He tried as hard as he could, but he flew slower and slower every moment. He was so tired. As he lost his grip on consciousness, the voices started echoing in his head.

"I'm not afraid!" a voice shouted.

"Of course you're not," a second one laughed. It was harsh and full of malice. Harry recognized the voice of Bellatrix Lestrange immediately. "You're a proud Gryffindor after all, and the _girlfriend_ of the valiant Harry Potter."

"Go on, then," Ginny goaded her. "Do whatever it is you came here for. Can't you see the sparks? He's coming. There isn't much time."

Bellatrix laughed. "Oh, I'm afraid there is more than enough time, Weasley."

There was a pause, and Harry's fear woke him up enough to help him urge his broom forward just a little faster. He wasn't as far from the ground as he would have liked.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Ginny said quietly. "It's the best thing. Hermione will understand. I'll be okay..."

"What's that?" Bellatrix sneered. "Talking to Harry? You know of his little talent, do you? It's no matter."

Harry was nearly there. He could see Ginny's tiny body standing behind the fire, her back to the giant oak tree. Then suddenly, she simply disappeared. Harry dove to the ground, and tried to pull up at the last moment, but failed. He hit the ground hard.

He couldn't feel any broken bones, but he also seemed to lack the strength to pull himself to his feet. He struggled on the ground for a moment, trying to crawl or pull himself to the fire. Maybe she just fell, Harry told himself, maybe she jumped behind the tree...

He crawled to where Ginny had been. She was nowhere to be seen. She just vanished.

"Where?" he said aloud. "Where did—"

"Oh. You're too late, Potter," said a cold voice above him. Harry rolled over to look up at Bellatrix. "She's quite the witch, I must admit, but I fear she's miscalculated our intentions."

"What did... you... do to her?" Harry forced himself to say. He was barely awake now, and Bellatrix's face was all he could see.

She held a small object in a cloth bag by its base, letting the top drop down to reveal a miniature trophy cup. "A little trick I've heard you're fond of," she laughed. "Portkeys, Potter. She's long gone. And so am I." With a smile, she pinched the small handle of the cup, and disappeared silently.

* * *

Harry awoke to the acrid smell of a potion being waved under his nose. He coughed violently and shoved the heavily gloved hand away from him face. He was exhausted, his body ached, and on the edge of his mind was a vast consuming dread. Something horrible was coming. He could feel it, but couldn't quite say just what it was. 

He couldn't hear what anyone was saying, and he could barely see. A nearby fire cast shadows from a number of robed figures around him. His nightmares were always filled with robed figures now, but these were different. They were not hooded and masked, and they seemed to be watching him. The one closest to him, still holding the vile smelling potion, was recognizable. It was Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Where is she, Harry? Which way did they go?"

The realization hit him with a wave of nausea. Ginny was gone. Voldemort had taken her. He tried to say something —anything— but his throat closed up in panic. How long had it been? He stared into his professor's eyes and shook his head weakly.

She was gone. He'd failed.

The despair in Kingsley's eyes only made Harry feel worse. He collapsed onto the rough ground and struggled to push himself back up. More Aurors were crowding around him and a pair of them came forward to pull him to his feet.

"How many of them were there?" Kingsley asked quickly.

"Just one... just—"

"They couldn't have gotten far!" shouted one of the Aurors. "Tell the guards at Hogsmeade! We can—" He was cut off by a gesture from Shacklebolt.

"How did they take her, Harry?"

Harry felt his stomach clench again. It was hopeless. He looked into his professor's eyes and choked out a single word: "Portkey."

Kingsley Shacklebolt's eyes fell, and the rest of the Aurors grew silent. They knew it as well as Harry. She could be anywhere now. It was pointless to search for her anywhere nearby.

"I need four of you to come with me. We need to return Mr. Potter to the castle. Wharton, go to Hogsmeade. Ask them if they've seen anything of interest. Roorke, take Parks and see to that window."

Harry took a few stumbling steps toward Shacklebolt, but stopped when another Auror called out from behind him.

"What about the Ministry?" he asked firmly. "We can't hide another—"

Shacklebolt turned on him immediately. "We're not hiding anything!"

"We're supposed to report any more attacks, immediately. Those were our _orders_, Shacklebolt!"

"I know our orders!" Kingsley boomed in response. "I'll tell the Ministry, just not now."

"We were told—"

Shacklebolt turned and strode past Harry. "She was—" he started before dropping his voice to a low rumble. "She is Arthur Weasley's daughter, and I'll not have him learn of this from the Ministry. He deserves at least that."

As Harry walked back to the castle, he kept quiet and barely looked at the Aurors around him. He could feel their gazes and didn't want to know if they were looking at him in pity, sadness, suspicion or fear. He knew that the one to his left was carrying his Firebolt, and that Kingsley was walking on his right, but saying nothing.

"Harry?" he said in a low voice. "It looks like you have some friends waiting for you." Harry forced himself to look up to the main door of the castle. Silhouetted against the light of the Entrance Hall were Ron and Hermione. Ron's impatience was obvious from his posture.

"You don't need to talk to them," Kingsley whispered as they entered the courtyard. "We can take you to the Headmaster's office."

"No," Harry answered. "I... I just want to sleep."

"Patterson," Kingsley called out softly. "Find Dumbledore —quickly. He'll know what needs to be done. Tell him that I'll be be there shortly."

One of the Aurors behind Harry dashed forward and ran past Harry's friends without giving them a second look. Harry could see their faces now. Ron looked almost optimistic, but Hermione's expression was more concerned. For a moment, Harry's eyes connected with Hermione's and he watched as her body slackened slightly and a single tear ran down her cheek.

"He's okay!" Ron shouted. "I can see him. He's okay, Hermione." She didn't react at first, and Ron turned to look from Harry to Hermione and back to Harry.

Harry loathed the feel of the stone under his feet. For the first time in his life he didn't want to return to Hogwarts castle. He didn't want to face what he knew would be coming. He wanted to turn and run. He wanted to leave and never return.

As if wearing leaden shoes, Harry stepped through the door and looked at Ron. Ron gave him a quizzical look as the the door closed and locked behind him. He turned to stare at Harry as Hermione wrapped an arm around his waist.

"But— Where..." Ron's voice wavered and he stepped toward Harry. "Where's Ginny? Did they take her to the Hospital Wing?"

Harry's stomach tightened again, and he felt certain he'd be sick. He couldn't look at Ron anymore. Ron was the best friend he'd ever had and he couldn't bear to see what was about to happen.

"Where is she?" he asked again, more insistently.

Harry kept walking, escorted by only a pair of Aurors now. He noticed Kingsley turning to stand in front of Ron, and he could hear the low tones of his voice as he spoke to Ron. Harry was already walking up the steps when he heard Ron's response to the news.

"Harry!" his hoarse shout echoed up the stairway. "You said you'd protect her!"

Ron had only said it once before Hermione and Kingsley had probably convinced him to remain quiet, but it echoed in Harry's mind as he walked to his empty dormitory.

It was dark and deserted. Would Ron ever be back? He tried not to think of such things. There wasn't anything he could have done about it. Ginny had planned it out. She'd been trying to get away from him. If he would have stopped her, she would have found another way. He tried to console himself with those thoughts, but it didn't work. She wasn't here. If she hadn't been close to him, she would have been safe. Now, no one knew where she was, or what was happening to her.

Harry drifted off to a troubled sleep. His dreams were black and empty. Again and again, Ron's words echoed in his mind.

* * *

The next day brought little news to make him feel any better. The Aurors had searched the area, more for signs of Death Eaters than Ginny. As always, they had found nothing. There wasn't even any evidence to prove Harry's claim of seeing Bellatrix Lestrange there, though no one had any reason to doubt him. 

There had been no reports of any strange girls seen or found around wizarding Britain. The few spies the Aurors had near suspected Death Eaters had not heard any news of Ginny, and had no clues as to where she might have been taken.

She'd simply disappeared. One minute she'd been helping Harry re-write his essay, and the next she was gone. Ron was gone as well. He hadn't come back to the dormitory, and Hermione told Harry over a somber breakfast that he'd gone to Grimmauld Place. Bill and Charlie were going to be there, and the Order was already secretly searching for Ginny alongside the Aurors.

Harry almost wished he could have joined the rest of them. Hogwarts didn't hold the happiness for him it once had. The fact that everyone stared at him was nothing new, but they were much more distracting now. It was as if everyone was waiting for him to do something, whether that was to run away screaming or to attack them he couldn't tell.

Somehow he trudged his way through a day of classes, managing to completely ignore the looks of his classmates and everything the professors had said. Even Potions was bearable. Snape mercifully kept any comments to himself, and Hermione quietly made sure that he didn't obliterate their cauldron.

As they left the Potions dungeon, Hermione quietly told Harry that there would be a meeting of the D.A. Council that night. Hermione didn't say much, but she mentioned that the Aurors would be there, and they had been the ones to call for the meeting.

After that, Harry couldn't bring himself to eat. If they Aurors had called a meeting, it had to be about Ginny, and the news couldn't possibly be good. Instead of heading to the Great Hall when it came time to eat, Harry sat by the window in his dormitory staring out across the grounds to the main gate and the large oak tree beyond it.

How could he have protected her? Would it truly have mattered if they'd kept their secret? It just would have been someone else.

The idea wasn't new to Harry. The same thought had run through his head many times that day, several times as he stood next to Hermione while she stirred the potion they shared. How was he supposed to protect them? How could he fight Voldemort when he wasn't there? How could he stop the Death Eaters if they ran from every confrontation with him? There was only one thing that would ever bring an end to all of this...

"Harry?" Hermione called out from the doorway. "Are you alright? You've missed dinner."

"I wasn't hungry," Harry lied. His stomach was aching for food, but Harry found a strange comfort in it, as if his suffering might somehow lessen whatever might be happening to Ginny.

"It's time for the meeting."

Silently, Harry stood and followed Hermione to the Room of Requirement where Cho stood watch by the door. She tried to hide the sympathetic look in her eyes, but Harry had seen too much in the last day to miss it. She nodded to Hermione.

"They're already here. We're just waiting for Zabini."

She opened the door and Harry followed Hermione in and sat in a large, stiff backed chair in one of the corners filled with books. Everyone seemed to be trying to avoid him as much as possible, but the wait for Blaise Zabini still seemed to last an eternity.

"Sorry about that," he announced when he finally arrived. "Nott didn't want to take a hint." He and Cho sat down as the rest of the room turned to look at the four Aurors who were standing against the far wall.

After the first minute or so of them talking Harry's mind had already started to wander. They weren't saying anything he didn't know or hadn't guessed. Ginny was gone. Voldemort had taken her. No one had any idea of where she was.

Some of the members asked questions about what had happened, and what the Aurors had done. Harry found the whole situation discouraging. They were already acting as if there was little hope of ever finding her. It was only a matter of time before someone else would ask the question Harry had stumbled upon last night.

"I—I know how this sounds..." Ernie said in a halting voice, "but how do we know she's still... er..."

"Alive?" one of the Aurors finished for him. "We don't. Dumbledore seems confident that the Death Eaters were not planning to kill her, but he won't say why." Harry could almost feel the Aurors looking at him as they continued. "I don't know how much we can trust his intuition."

"She's alive," Harry finally answered.

"Is there some reason you know that, Potter?" one of the older Aurors asked politely.

A bitter smile spread across Harry's face. "He wouldn't let her die without showing me."

The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence as they turned their eyes from Harry. He'd come to that conclusion not long after he'd first wondered if Ginny still lived. Certainly the knowledge that he was completely powerless to protect Ginny was one of the main purposes of taking her.

The Aurors moved on to other topics which were no more interesting than anything else they had said. They'd reminded everyone that they should pay attention to any small detail which might give them any idea where Ginny might be. They'd been particular in repeating this to Blaise and Daphne who seemed to regard the Aurors with some degree of distrust.

The meeting ended some time later, leaving Harry with no more knowledge than he'd brought, and less hope than he realized he had before. He returned to his empty dormitory, completely ignoring Hermione and the rest of the students in the common room.

He forced himself to sleep. He didn't care about dreams or visions. He didn't want to be cheered up or distracted. He simply wanted the empty oblivion of sleep and the passage of another night. His wishes and fears were both granted, as he quickly fell into a deep, troubled sleep.

He had no dreams and no visions. Instead he conjured the same image into his mind again and again. He pictured Ginny sitting alone and scared, huddled in the corner of some cold, dark room as she and Harry both waited to discover what her fate would be.

The image would not leave his mind, and when he woke up, he found that it was still there. Perhaps it had been a vision. If it were, it wasn't a terribly encouraging one, and if it was a dream then Harry knew that it would only get worse the next night.

The next day Ron returned to Hogwarts. He said little to Harry, and spent most of his time at Hermione's side. Harry made a habit of ignoring supper and taking only the lightest of lunches. He spent less time studying than Hermione would have wanted, but she said little more to Harry than Ron did.

The only good news, if good news were even possible, was that the Easter holidays were slowly approaching, and Harry would get at least a week without classes, professors, the D.A. or other students talking about him. Ron and Hermione would also be staying, along with only a very small number of other students. Most, it seemed, were more than happy to leave Hogwarts.

Harry avoided any thoughts about why this would be, and focused on trying to look forward to the holidays. What he wanted more than anything else was to simply be alone, and the holidays would provide him with that.

His dreams had gotten worse, as he'd feared. Harry was certain that he'd woken up Ron a number of times that night, but Ron never said anything about it. He rarely said anything at all to Harry.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

I'd like to say I'm sorry, but I'm not. Again, this is just the way the plot works. You should at least see it through the next chapter or so before everyone runs off. There's still some interesting parts left.


	38. The Obstructed Exit

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 38 - The Obstructed Exit**

* * *

After most of the students left for the spring holidays, Harry was left in a drastically de-populated castle. For the first time in his life, he was almost beginning to wish he could have left with the rest of the students. He'd been looking forward to being alone, but found that the deserted castle instead meant that it was increasingly harder to avoid Ron. 

There had been a time when Harry would have enjoyed sharing an empty castle with Ron, but he barely talked to Harry anymore, and when he did, his tone was always laced with pain and resentment. Hermione had tried to strike some sort of balance between being friends with both Ron and Harry. However, it became clear very quickly that Ron wasn't softening his views of Harry. So, instead, she settled for silence and the occasional sympathetic smile at Harry.

Harry hadn't slept well at all since the twenty-fifth. When he did sleep, he woke up feeling worse than he did before he fell asleep. His dreams were always about Ginny now. Fear and worry haunted him while he was awake, but at night they came alive and clawed at him until he awoke, only to retreat and wait for him to return to his dreams. He was certain that most of the dreams were nothing more than manifestations of his own fears, but sometimes they felt different. Sometimes they felt tangible enough that they might have been visions of what was really happening.

And so, night after night he'd gone to sleep, hoping he might see what was really happening to Ginny, and wondering whether that would be relief or torture. This night was no different than the last, and yet again Harry was subjected to dream after dream of the worst things his mind could conjure, until he felt what he'd been waiting for. Something about this dream felt different.

The imagery was nothing new. He'd seen it many times. It was Ginny, of course. Her hair was dusty and unkempt, but still red enough to identify her immediately. It was her eyes, however, which were most familiar to him. Her seething, furiously defiant eyes. They seemed to stare right through Harry.

It was something of a favorite theme for Harry's most recent dreams. She would sometimes even speak to him, sometimes looking horribly sick, sometimes terribly beaten, but always blaming Harry. This time, she was simply staring. Harry wanted to look away, but he knew this was his fault. He needed to face this.

"Well?" she suddenly said. Her voice was hoarse and dry, as if she'd been shouting and screaming for some time. "You didn't come here just to look at me," she rasped. "So say or do whatever it is you are here for and leave me alone."

Harry didn't know what to say. He was about to try to respond when he heard a high pitched, hissing laugh from behind him. "Indeed," it laughed. "I should have expected as much from Potter."

Harry turned around to find himself face to face with Lord Voldemort. He recoiled and felt himself stumble, but instead of falling, he felt himself sail backward into a corner of the small room he was in. It wasn't a dream. This was real. At least, it was a vision of reality.

Harry looked around, trying to see if he could find anything to identify this place. It was small, and damp, with large stone brick walls and a dirty floor. A cellar, perhaps. There were a pair of smaller rooms to either side, but the only way out seemed be through the heavy door behind him. Ginny was huddled in a corner, covering herself with a large, dusty blanket. Her feet were bare, and Harry guessed they had taken her robes.

"What are you waiting for?" Ginny asked defiantly.

"I have heard a number of interesting rumors about you, girl. They say you are quite clever. While I may not have planned to meet you like this, I do not need spies to see that you are unique. Surely someone of your intellect can divine the reason for the... delay."

The defiance on Ginny's face melted away, and for the first time in any of Harry's dreams he saw fear behind her eyes. She swallowed hard. Her voice was faint, but the word echoed in Harry's mind.

"Harry."

There was an answering hiss of laughter from Voldemort. "Now please do use that mind of yours and behave. Your misbehavior will be paid for by his pain," said Voldemort as he paced toward her. When he spoke again, his voice was more conversational, but menacing.

"It appears that luck and some small bit of cunning have saved Lucius Malfoy yet again," he spoke. "I have released him from him imprisonment as my portion of a bargain involving information about you. However, I will not forget his actions, and I have recently been made aware of others who may serve me in his place." Voldemort walked to the heavy door and easily heaved it open, revealing a tall figure in a black robe. In a quiet hiss he said "Fetch the chest." Ginny could not hear what he'd said.

"Lucius—" he sneered "—has confirmed a curious bit of information for me, though I scarcely needed to be told. You have been in the Chamber of Secrets. In fact, you have opened it, have you not?"

Ginny stared back at him, saying nothing.

"I saw it in you immediately. I saw myself. You've noticed it, haven't you? That is why you were attracted to him. It is no coincidence that has brought you together. You saw in each other a missing piece of yourselves. You saw a piece of me."

"You can have it back!" Ginny yelled dryly. "I never wanted it."

"Foolish girl," Voldemort laughed, "You barely know what you have, though it is only a shadow of what Potter has. Still, there is something more which I am curious to know." Voldemort turned as a pair of Death Eaters struggled with a heavy chest. They dropped it roughly onto the floor in front of Ginny, cornering her.

"Leave us," Voldemort ordered. Ginny sank deeply into her corner, unsure of what was in the chest. A sickening smile spread across Voldemort's face. "Don't worry. It won't kill you. I would never allow that. It is merely a common Boggart." Ginny's face paled as Voldemort smiled cruelly and reached for the chest. "A pity you forgot to bring your wand."

Voldemort pulled back the heavy lid of the chest and a dark shape rose out if it. Ginny's face was deathly white as it stepped out of the chest toward her. She shrunk away, unable to stop staring at it.

"Come, Ginny," it said over Voldemort's loud laughs, "We'll finish it together. We'll finish the work of the great Salazar Slytherin. We can start with Harry... and then the Mudbloods will be helpless..." Harry's heart was pounding in his chest. A sixteen year old Tom Riddle was standing over Ginny, smiling.

"No, Tom... No..." Ginny whispered. "I won't let you..."

Tom laughed heartily. "Let me? How would you stop me, _Ginny_? You're just a _little girl_. You couldn't stop me then, either. But then, perhaps you weren't trying as hard as you said you were. By the end, I think you were starting to enjoy it. You took some of me with you. You couldn't let it all go, could you? Come along and we'll finish it together."

Ginny was covering her eyes and shaking her head. "No! I didn't want to! I didn't mean to!"

"Come now," Tom said as he mimicked the smile of Voldemort behind him, "Where has Harry Potter gotten you? Here? Cowering and helpless in some forgotten dungeon? You fancied me once. Why not again? Together we could rule the world! In time, you won't even remember the name Harry Potter. Let his death be your first triumph!"

Ginny was shouting and sobbing as Tom continued to talk to her with his gentle, poisonous voice. Voldemort walked away, leaving Ginny and Tom behind him. Harry was pulled after him. As he closed the door, he said quietly, "She is foolish, just as you are. However, this was just to feed my curiosity. She will have no memory of this night. It will be little more than a nightmare without a source. You however, will not be so lucky. Sleep well, Potter."

Harry was prepared for it, but it didn't matter. The pain in his scar was startling, and he sat up in his bed with a shout of pain. It hurt less than the last time, though not enough to easily ignore. As Harry stepped out of his bed and walked to the window he thought to himself about how accustomed he'd gotten to the pain. Nothing seemed to hurt as much anymore. How much did his scar normally hurt? How many people had died without him noticing? How much pain did it take for him to notice his scar above the constant throbbing he must endure every day?

The cool night air helped to drive off the pain from his scar. It didn't take long until it was barely noticeable. Harry turned to walk back to his bed, and saw Ron standing outside his own bed, staring at Harry.

"Was it her?" Ron asked sternly. Harry nodded and turned back to the window. "Is it... over?" he asked, choking a little on the final word. Harry knew that he meant more than he asked.

"She's alive," Harry answered quietly.

"So are you," Ron countered. "Would she wish your places were switched?" His voice was edged with the same anger he'd shown Harry since Ginny had been taken.

"No," Harry said flatly, knowing the answer "He'll let her live. But not me. Nothing can stop him. Not anymore."

"Dumbledore—"

"Dumbledore can't stop this. He won't. Only I could have," Harry felt a swelling of despair smothering him. He turned an empty gaze on Ron. "It's too late now. She'll live —for now— but what's the point? "

Ron's anger seemed to break and ebb away. "You don't know where she is?"

Harry turned back to the inky darkness of the night sky. "A cellar, it appears. Muggle cottage nearby, maybe. Maybe some magical castle in Germany. Could be anywhere." Harry didn't say any more, but part of him knew that it was probably nearby. Far enough to make looking for it pointless, but close enough to add a bitter sting to the knowledge that he was unable to save her.

"Is it that bad?"

Harry turned to look at Ron. "Go back to sleep, Ron." Harry walked to the door and opened it. "I'll just be down in the common room. I'll see you in the morning."

Harry sat motionless on the couch in the common room. He didn't want to dream any more tonight. He'd seen enough. He stared into the fire, wondering where the end was. He remembered his parents, and the screams of his mother. Had it been this bad then, he wondered. How much more of this would he have to endure?

He remained awake into the next morning. The house-elves had come through to clean the room, and had kept their distance from him. A pair of them had been kind enough to add a log to the fire and silently place a pair of pillows next to him.

The Easter holidays seemed to drag on, each empty day followed by a restless night of despair. Dreams and visions blended into a single unending nightmare. Harry walked around the castle in a daze, jumping at the slightest change in his surroundings.

He lost track of the days, and took to napping whenever he could find the time during the day. Ron still didn't talk much to him, but he also didn't seem as upset with Harry. Hermione tried to talk to Harry a number of times. Recently she'd started pleading with Harry to talk with Madam Pomfrey about the amount of sleep he'd been getting. It didn't sound like a bad idea, but at the same time, he didn't know how much sleep he'd been getting. It seemed like he spent most of his time asleep, yet he was always exhausted. A Dreamless Sleep Potion might help him rest, but it would also prevent him from knowing if anything had happened to Ginny.

Hermione had been able to get at least one piece of information through to him. Spring holidays would be ending soon. The students would be returning in just two more days. The thought of having to face his nightmares and a castle full of students staring at him was almost too much to think about.

His dreams that night were of Ginny. They were terrifying and uncontrollable, and yet, to some degree, Harry found them comforting. They helped him believe that she was still alive. Usually she would just be cowering in the corner, sometimes she would be shouting at Death Eaters, and sometimes she was just crying. They never lasted long. He guessed he could only get them when Voldemort was looking on.

His suspicions were confirmed that night as he had yet another vision. Ginny was sobbing in the corner, with her hands curled around a rough, shallow bowl. She took a drink, but stopped to let out a series of dry, hacking coughs. As he watched, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"She's not so proud anymore, is she Potter?"

Harry didn't try to respond.

"She had to beg for that water. It's lightly poisoned, of course. Not so much to kill her, or even incapacitate her. Just enough to hurt. Enough to make her a little more cooperative."

Harry felt his hatred growing in him, threatening to explode and make him shout at the abomination behind him. He restrained himself, and remained quiet. In response, Harry felt Voldemort's anger rising.

"I see. Perhaps you've forgotten my earlier lesson." Voldemort whispered. He made a quick motion with his hand. "She's had enough," he hissed, and Harry flinched as a pair of Death Eaters passed through him as they opened the door and walked into the room. After the door was shut, one of them hung a heavy cloak over the window in the door to keep Harry from watching. He tried, but there was no way for him to see into the room.

He could hear the Death Eaters arguing with Ginny. Her voice was shaky and dry, and it was difficult to hear what she was trying to yell at them. They were clearly trying to take the water back, and Ginny undoubtedly wanted to keep drinking, no matter how ill it made her feel.

There was a bit of silence, then a wild scream filled the room and hallway. Before it died away, there was a number of quick shouts from the Death Eaters, and then a faint shriek followed by the sickening sound of a body falling onto stone.

"I'm afraid it's time to go, Potter," Voldemort hissed as he reached for the doorknob. "I have some urgent business to attend to."

Harry braced himself and only winced slightly as the pain sliced across his forehead. When his eyes opened, he saw only the interior of his bed in Gryffindor Tower. His heart was pounding and his hands were shaking. How much longer would this go on? How much longer could Ginny take this? How much longer could he?

He crawled out of bed and quietly walked to the door after grabbing a dressing gown. He carefully and slowly pulled the door open, trying not to make a sound.

"What did you see?"

Harry jumped at the sound of Ron's voice. He quickly searched the room and saw him sitting on the floor near the window. Ron wasn't looking at Harry, and was simply staring at the floor under his outstretched legs.

"They're just nightmares, Ron."

"No, they're not, Harry," Ron replied. "You see her, don't you? You see what they're doing... What's happening? Why are they keeping her?"

"I don't know, Ron. I don't even know if anything I see is real. Sometimes it feels real, but that doesn't mean anything."

"If it doesn't mean anything, why are you going downstairs? You've always had nightmares, but after some of them, you refuse to go back to sleep. If it's nothing, why do you act so different?"

Harry didn't have an answer for him. He couldn't tell Ron what he'd seen, even if he only told him the things he believed to be real. As he stepped into the hallway, he turned back to look at his friend.

"It'll be alright. Go back to sleep, Ron."

Harry went down to the common room, and waited for dawn, just like he had almost every night of the spring holidays. There would be only one more, and then the students would return. Harry knew that Voldemort would never release Ginny with all the students away on holiday, but perhaps once they came back he would and this could end.

That single thought helped Harry make it through the next two days, and when the students returned, he quietly remained in the sixth year dormitory, hoping to avoid everyone. Ron had been called to a D.A. Council meeting in Ginny's absence, and Harry was glad for the assurance of a couple hours of solitude.

He slept that night, hopeful that he might see some hint that Ginny would be released, or even that some change would happen. There was none, and Harry's dreams took a darker turn, becoming more violent and much less hopeful.

During the days, the looks he was getting from the other students were starting to become increasingly more worried. Professor McGonagall had offered him a small bottle of sleeping potion and Kingsley Shacklebolt had become concerned enough to send him from class to Madam Pomfrey. She'd suggested the same remedy, but Harry had refused it. He needed to dream so he could watch for any sign that Ginny's captivity had ended, for good or bad. He needed to know more than he needed to sleep.

Harry hadn't known a night of restful sleep for so long that the nights were more tiring than days now. He alternated between sleep and wakefulness so often that Ron had stopped taking notice.

His dreams were as bad as they had ever been. The only good news was that he was able to separate the visions from the horrors his own mind created with some amount of reliability. The real visions were mercifully few, and that was the only thing that made the rest of the dreams bearable. The vision were also stronger, more intense. He could feel them coming, whether he was awake or asleep. Much like he did right now.

Harry sat up and closed his eyes tightly. He knew what was coming, and it was strong. He didn't want the uncertainty of missing any part of it, so he relaxed and welcomed it. Through the dark he heard the sound of heavy boots on stone. It had begun.

He seemed to follow a large cloaked figure through a door he'd seen too many times. In the corner where she always was, sat Ginny, with a pair of masked Death Eaters on either side of her. She looked worse than the previous vision. There were bruises and small cuts on her arms. Her eyes were red, and she looked as if she hadn't slept in days. Despite her appearance, it was apparent she hadn't given up yet.

"Get out, you foul monster," she shouted at Voldemort as he walked toward her.

"Still trying to fight back, I see," Voldemort hissed. He walked to Ginny and crouched before her. "She is quite spirited."

"Whatever you're trying to do, it isn't working," Ginny spat. "You aren't going to kill me. So do whatever it is you brought me here for or let me go."

Voldemort laughed. "And what if we've already done what we brought you here for? Silly girl. You may be clever, but you still don't understand. You haven't been brought here so we can do something to _you_."

Ginny's eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment, but then her face became blank and expressionless. She stared coldly at Voldemort. The door opened behind them, and a single Death Eater entered the room. Voldemort turned to look at the man. "He's here?"

The Death Eater nodded quickly. Voldemort turned back to Ginny. "I'm afraid your time here with us is nearly over. In time, you will come to understand your purpose here, but it will be too late, I'm afraid." He stood and addressed the Death Eater in the doorway. "Bring him in."

A moment later, a smaller figure was led into the room, with a rough sack tied over their head. The captive's hands were bound and hung over a large wooden peg in the wall. With a wave of Voldemort's hands, the hood vanished.

Before Harry could make himself shift to see who it was, he heard a mournful, despairing moan from Ginny as she started sobbing. His mind raced. Who else had been caught? It couldn't be Ron. It was too short to be Bill, Charlie or the twins. Ginny was already pleading with Voldemort, but Harry's view was still blocked. Finally, the Death Eaters began to file out of the room.

What Harry saw shocked him. For a moment the room seemed to spin, and he felt faint. Hanging helplessly from the wall, he saw himself, bound and without glasses.

How could it be? It couldn't be. It was an illusion. It had to be.

"Harry!" Ginny wailed, "No, Harry. Why?"

Voldemort simply laughed. It echoed in the small room, drowning out Ginny's cries.

"Come now, Miss Weasley," he laughed. "Where is that defiance and courage you've shown us?" Ginny didn't answer. She was sobbing loudly in the corner, shaking out of fear and sadness. Voldemort walked toward her and the captive against the wall.

His hand reached into the robe pocket of whoever the Death Eaters had brought down, and pulled out a large knife. Harry recognized it immediately. It was the knife Charlie and Bill had given him. A choke in Ginny's cries let Harry know that she recognized it as well.

Voldemort said nothing, but walked back to the center of the room, and held the knife in front of him. Slowly, he peeled back his long fingers, leaving the knife floating in mid-air. With both hands splayed on either side of the knife, it began slowly floating forward, the point of the knife traveling slowly on its path toward the prisoner.

With a shout, Ginny leapt to her feet. She was wearing only her underwear, and seemed to have a large number of small bruises. For a moment she seemed unsure of what to do, but with a sudden leap, she grasped for the knife.

It barely moved. She gave a desperate yelp, as she realized what was happening. The knife continued slowly toward the man she thought was Harry. The tip of the knife was only a few feet from his stomach. He seemed to be trying to talk or call out, but no sound came out of his mouth.

Ginny struggled with all her strength against the knife as it moved closer and closer. She could not turn it aside, and had taken to trying to pull it back. She was able to slow it down, but it continued on its deadly course. She became more and more frantic. Putting all of her failing strength against the magic pushing it forward.

As the knife closed the last few inches, she screamed and cried as she tried to stop it. But after two weeks of captivity, her strength had waned, and she instead watched helplessly as the knife slowly buried itself in the tied man's stomach. He convulsed and dark crimson drops fell from the wound, spattering across the floor and wall.

Suddenly Ginny flopped to the floor, holding the bloody knife in her hands. Voldemort must have stopped pushing it. She stumbled to her feet, clenching the knife in her right hand. With a tortured scream, she threw the knife at Voldemort.

He seemed to have been expecting such an attack, and the knife seemed to bounce in mid-air, and shot back toward the man on the wall, stabbing him in the thigh.

Ginny let out a strangled gasp as she gingerly pulled the knife back out. She was crying freely now. "I'm sorry, Harry," she whispered to the man. "It's the only way..." As she turned the knife in her hand to get a better grip, she saw Voldemort advancing on her. She turned to attack him, but with a gesture of his hand, the knife turned and plunged back into the man's shoulder.

The man was now quite pale. His eyes were glassy and and barely moving. Harry was having trouble looking at him. The prisoner was identical to him in every way. The similarities were so complete that neither Ginny nor anyone else could have seen the difference. She was holding him and shouting things Harry couldn't make out.

Voldemort had walked up behind her, and with one quick motion he cruelly wrenched the knife out of the man's shoulder. He pushed Ginny aside and placed the tip of the knife over the man's heart. Ginny clutched at the knife wildly as it cut through the man's robes.

"Yes," Voldemort sneered. "We'll kill him together." The knife reached the mans chest, and a dark wet circle started to spread around the blade. Ginny screamed and struggled as hard as she could, trying everything in her power to fight him.

"It's only fitting," Voldemort whispered, "I never could have done it without you." As Ginny screamed and pulled back on the handle, he pushed the knife in as deep as it would go. Ginny collapsed onto the stone floor. She was covered in the man's blood, but she just layed on the floor gasping and sobbing. Voldemort laughed as he pulled the knife out of the man's chest. With one swift motion, Voldemort cut him down, and his body dropped to the ground next to Ginny.

She crawled next to the body and clutched at his chest, ripping open his robes and shirt. Her crying paused for a moment, then quickly grew to a tortured shout as she lifted something from his chest. At first, it was hard to tell what she'd seen, but she quickly reached under the prisoner's head and pulled out a long silver chain with a small shining object held between the ends. It was a replica of his own necklace.

Ginny wrapped it gingerly around her wrist, and collapsed onto the body, sobbing uncontrollably. Laughing, Voldemort turned and walked out of the room. Harry was pulled away, out of the room. Just outside the door were a pair of Death Eaters.

"Don't waste any time," he ordered them. "And bring the body when you're done." As Voldemort walked up the stairs, he continued laughing.

Harry felt his blood boiling. Voldemort seemed to be speaking, but he couldn't hear it. His vision was getting foggy, and wherever he was, it was very dark.

Suddenly, he realized that he was back in his own bed. Or rather, he'd never left, but his vision had stopped. He felt nothing but a consuming rage and before he knew it, he was out of his bed with a fresh set of robes on and searching for his wand. He grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and opened his trunk to grab his Firebolt.

"Harry?"

Harry turned to see Ron standing behind him. Ron looked scared and worried. Seeing Ron's expression reminded Harry of everything he'd just seen. He stumbled and fell to the floor. He felt ill. His scar burned and Ginny's cries echoed in his head.

He struggled to his feet and staggered out the door and down the stairs. Ron was right behind him, but Harry barely noticed. As he reached the common room, his anger returned, giving him the strength to run across the common room and out the portrait hole, leaving Ron shouting at him from the stairs.

He had to get out of the castle, but the windows wouldn't work. The Aurors would stop him. He had to fly quickly, and it wouldn't do to have Aurors firing jinxes at him while he was searching for Ginny. There was a better way.

He tossed the Invisibility Cloak over his head and bolted off down the hallway. As he ran, tried to think of where he should start looking. He didn't know of any cottages in the forest, but it seemed more likely than Voldemort choosing some cottage in full view of anyone.

He began climbing stairs. He climbed as fast as he could. He felt his chest burning and his heart beating harder than he could remember. Finally with with a heave, he threw open the door to the top of the Astronomy Tower.

He stood for a moment in the chilly night breeze, and looked over the moonlit grounds. Where would he start? The Forbidden Forest seemed to be the obvious choice: it was nearby, and he'd have to fly over it anyway. He folded the cloak and stuffed it in his bag, then walked to the edge of the tower and readied his broom.

"It's a fine evening for flying, isn't it?"

Harry whirled around, pulled his wand from his pocket and aimed it in the direction of the voice. Albus Dumbledore stood there, giving an impressed nod to Harry's reaction. Harry lowered his wand, but stared doubtfully at his Headmaster.

"Why are you here?" Harry asked.

"Because this is where you were going."

"I have to go. Ginny's in trouble."

Dumbledore nodded and frowned. "I see. And you believe this is the wisest action to take?"

"It's not like Sirius. I can tell the difference now. This is real."

"I do not doubt that, Harry," Dumbledore said in a soft, kindly voice. "I only question what actions you might take to resolve this problem."

Harry was caught between anger and doubt. He was losing time, but he also had not even considered what he would do if he found her. "I have to do something. I can't just watch— I can't... I can't stop it, here."

"That is true," Dumbledore said as he sat down on the low wall surrounding the top of the tower. "I do believe it will stop if you leave," he said solemnly, "but before you choose that road, remember that you have been in this situation before, and that Tom Riddle was the one who put you there."

"It's not the same!" Harry shouted.

"No, indeed it is not. I only ask that you at least consider the possibility that this reaction is _precisely_ what Voldemort is expecting from you." Dumbledore stood and walked to Harry.

"You didn't see what I saw," Harry said shakily. "He... I don't know how..."

"All the more reason to _remain where you are_," Dumbledore said firmly. "He knows you Harry. He may understand you better than you thought possible. You know he has something planned. You _must not_ do what he expects you to. There is nothing you can do to change Miss Weasley's fate." Dumbledore stared into Harry's eyes. "He has not killed any of us, yet. I do not believe he will kill Ginny. Trust in that."

Dumbledore reached out and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders. "I cannot guess what you have seen. I do not believe I would choose to see it if it were laid before me, but if you will remain here, I will help you in any other way you might think of."

Harry looked into Dumbledore's eyes and saw concern and caring. He'd lost a father and a godfather, and here was yet another person who was trying to fill his father's shoes. Harry desperately wanted to go and search for Ginny, no matter what had happened. Yet he also wanted to trust Dumbledore. How could he choose?

There was a way. He laid his Firebolt on the floor, and sat down near it with his back to the low wall. He held up a hand to stop Dumbledore from approaching. He closed his eyes and concentrated on Voldemort. He couldn't see anything, but he could _feel_ him.

"He's angry," Harry finally said immediately. After a moment, he felt it change. "He's disappointed." Harry knew that Dumbledore was right. Whatever was happening, Voldemort wanted Harry to leave, and it was upsetting his plans that he was not. That seemed enough to make Harry want to stay.

Dumbledore started asking Harry many questions, never asking for what he'd seen, but only for details that might help.

"He's nearby. He expected me to be there quickly," Harry explained. Dumbledore seemed to think it was good news. "He also told Ginny that she wouldn't be there for much longer." At this news, Dumbledore seemed to jump into action.

"Stay here. You'll get nothing from your classes tomorrow. With help from Fawkes, we will be able to search while you remain safely here." Dumbledore held up his wand, and it glowed a bright, cheerful blue color. "The Aurors will know you're here. No one will be allowed in the upper tower. If what you say is true, I expect Miss Weasley to return to us soon. If we find her before then, it will only be to our advantage."

And so Harry sat on the tower. A pair of Aurors came up eventually to supply him with a chair, and his text books. Among the books were a pair of Ron's Quidditch books. He must know where Harry was. He'd probably found the Map and figured out what Harry was doing. It comforted Harry a little to know that Ron had not completely given up on him.

* * *

Harry spent the rest of the night pacing the tower as Fawkes searched the areas that Harry felt they were most likely to find Ginny. By dawn, he began to think that it might be hopeless, but he continued on nonetheless. 

By noon of that day, Dobby had already retrieved the dishes Harry had eaten his lunch on, promising to be back with supper that evening if Harry was still on the tower. Fawkes returned less frequently, and Harry was running out of ideas to tell Fawkes.

At sunset, Fawkes returned, but Harry didn't sent him back out. He gave up for the day. With any luck, he'd have another vision that night, and he'd be able to find something more for Fawkes to look for. So Harry slept, while Fawkes sang softly to him.

Early the next morning Harry awoke with a start, and felt his heart sink upon seeing the first rays of the sun creeping across the treetops. He felt rested, and yet as he looked out over the grounds, he felt an overwhelming panic. Something had woken him up.

Suddenly the treetops were splashed with a flickering green light. An Auror had sent up sparks calling for help. Harry couldn't tell where the sparks had come from, but he knew where he should go.

"Fawkes!" Harry shouted, to the bird sleeping nearby. "I need you to take me to the large oak just outside the gates!"

With a few graceful beats of his wings, Fawkes was in the air and swooping low toward Harry. Harry reached up to grab Fawkes' tail, and with a feeling not unlike jumping into a Floo fire, Harry found himself standing outside Hogwarts not far from the tree which so many of the attacks had revolved around. To his relief and horror, he found what he'd expected.

Ginny, still covered in blood and clothed only in her underwear, was hanging from a large branch by her bound wrists. Some manner of post had been driven into the tree, and she had been left to hang limply on it. Harry didn't see her moving at all.

Harry pulled his wand and cut her down from the tree. His throat was dry and he was having trouble breathing. Her body was heavy and limp, and her skin felt cold and clammy against his hands. He shook her violently, trying desperately to wake her, and when she didn't he struggled to search for any sign that she was still alive. _Please be alive, please be alive_ Harry chanted to himself.

He pressed his fingers against her bloodstained neck. He let out a wild cry as he felt the pairs of rhythmic pulses which told him that she was still alive. He laid her down and raised his wand to the sky, sending a bright shower of red sparks into the brightening sky.

He looked around himself, and back to the tree where he'd found her. A chill ran down his spine as his eyes fixed on the peg she'd been hung from. It was not a peg or post as he had thought, but his very own knife.

The Aurors would arrive soon. He didn't want to explain it to them. He wanted to forget. The knife should be destroyed and forgotten.

_Accio Knife!_" Harry shouted quickly as he heard the first Auror running toward him. It pulled free of the branch and leapt obediently into his hand. He slid it into his robes. He didn't know what he was going to do with it, but he didn't want Ginny or anyone else to ever see it again, and he was certain that wouldn't happen if the Aurors took it.

Harry walked back to Ginny, and gingerly stood her up. Her body leaned against him limply, but he could still feel warmth coming from her, now. She would be alright. She had to be.

Harry heard the sound of quick footsteps approaching him. He turned to see an Auror running down a small hill toward him.

"What are you— Merlin's beard!" the Auror gasped. "Not another one. Who is it, boy?"

Harry struggled to turn and let the Auror see him in the dim morning light. "It's Ginny Weasley. I'm taking her to the Hospital Wing."

"It's too late, Potter," the Auror said as he pulled his wand. "They're all dead."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry replied, "but she's still alive."

The Auror seemed as confused as Harry, but he ran over to Ginny and clutched her arm. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped. "She's still alive. We need to hurry."

He pointed his wand into the sky and fired a jet of green sparks into the air, followed by a second burst of bright blue. "Come on, we have to get her to the castle."

"I'll see you there," Harry said and without any need for a command, Fawkes swooped low over Harry. He pulled Ginny tight against him with one arm and reached for Fawkes with another.

In a flash of fire he was gone. The Auror was left speechless, but Madam Pomfrey was not. Her initial scream upon Harry's sudden appearance was more than enough to draw the attention of Argus Filch. When she realized who it was, her face paled, and she ran forward to help him lay Ginny onto a bed. Fawkes circled the room twice, before disappearing in a burst of flame just as suddenly as he'd appeared. Once Ginny was laying down, Pomfrey dashed off leaving Harry alone by Ginny's side. Madam Pomfrey threw a ridiculously large handful of powder into the fireplace on the other side of the room, and quickly leaned into the fire.

"Minerva! Minerva, you must wake up!"

"What is going on here?" Filch growled from the doorway. "Hold on, what is Potter doing here? Out of bounds, eh Potter? Pomfrey catch you raiding her closets?"

Pomfrey didn't seem to hear him. Instead she seemed to be frantically talking with Professor McGonagall. Harry turned to try and talk with Filch, but as soon as Filch saw him, his face paled as well.

"What— Merlin's Ghost! What have you done, Potter?"

"He's brought Ginny Weasley back, Argus. You must find the Headmaster." Madam Pomfrey said as she rushed back over to Ginny and threw a number of thick blankets over her. "And someone should notify the Aurors. There might still—"

"The Aurors already know," Harry interrupted. "They said there are others... but they're all dead."

Madam Pomfrey sighed, but she didn't stop looking over Ginny. Her wand was glowing lightly and she seemed to be looking quite concerned. "I don't think she's in immediate danger, but someone should at least tell the girl's family that she has been found."

"I'll do it," Harry said flatly. "It should be me."

"You'll do nothing of the sort. You'll lay down in a bed until I figure out just how bad you're hurt."

"I'm not hurt," Harry tried to explain. "I just found her."

"I have no time to argue with you, Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey scolded him. "Now lay down so I can return to Miss Weasley."

Harry didn't want to lay down. He wasn't hurt, but as he looked down at himself he saw that he too looked pale and sickly, but more noticeably, he too was covered in blood. There was nothing he could to help Ginny right now, but he didn't want to leave her, either, so he quickly laid down in the next bed and waited. Dumbledore would be here soon. Fawkes would find him.

The room around him started getting hazy. He tried to sit up and clear his head, but he realized that he simply didn't have the strength. He was exhausted. He tried to keep his eyes open, but it had been too long since he'd slept as well as he should have. Ginny is safe, he told himself, it'll be alright. He felt himself drifting off to sleep, and with his last thoughts, made a single plea: _No more visions_. He emptied his mind, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When Harry finally drifted back awake, he saw a drastically different world than he had left. The empty, dimly lit room filled with dark shadows and no sound was replaced with a chamber of soft white light from the curtains which reflected the morning sun and separated him from the sources of the many voices and walking shoes around him.

Harry tried not to make any sound. He preferred the solitude of his bed right then, despite his past opinions of the Hospital Wing. He could not tell how many other people were in the room, but it seemed to be more than ten. Harry tried to catch as much as he could of the conversations going on outside.

"—was no warning at all, and after the first flares went up, they were going up all over the place. We didn't even know—"

"—by a tree. Rand said that he thought he saw something, but he ran off, and we didn't find him until after the fireworks. We see things all the time in the forest, there wasn't really any reason to think—"

"—said Hughes should be fine. He was patched up, but the wound isn't normal. That witch from St. Mungo's has been poking around in it, trying to figure out what did it. Bloody Death Eaters, what were they playing at?"

"—got her to drink that potion she's been looking a little better. There's still no word on what happened. They still haven't heard—"

"—and then we sent up sparks, but we'd have just as well conjured a flock of flamingos. At least that would have gotten someone's notice. There were five warnings in the sky, two of them calling for support. How were we to know which was most urgent? The worst part—"

"—if she'd just put the bloody bandages back like Pomfrey told her, it would heal up and he'd be able to go. And this place could do with a few less visitors—"

"—seems Miss Weasley will be just fine." Harry perked up immediately, and almost sat up in bed. It was Madam Pomfrey talking. He strained to hear more. "I've checked many times now. I can find no injuries on her other than some minor cuts and bruises."

"No injuries? Are you daft? I saw the Potter boy pick her up. I'm telling you there was so much blood I could barely tell it was her." Harry guessed that Pomfrey must have been talking to the Auror who had seen him.

"And I'm telling you that it wasn't her blood. It wasn't Potter's either, though I'd not have been surprised if it would have been. He dropped unconscious only seconds after I started on Miss Weasley. But he doesn't have a scratch on him—for once in his life." She seemed to be mixing up a large potion. Harry sincerely hoped that it wasn't for him.

"I wouldn't even be certain I could say that it _was_ blood. That cloth over there is the one I first used to clean her face with— one of them, at least. It's been four hours and the blood looks as fresh as it did when she came in."

"I believe we may already have the answers," said a voice that was obviously Dumbledore's. "If I guess correctly, Harry has already seen the cause of this, though I do not know if he will ever talk of it. It was a horrible test for him, and yet he passed."

"Then there's no doubt it's the reason he looks scarcely better off than she does," the Auror said. "He seemed lively enough when I saw him, but he was just as unresponsive as her when I got here."

"As we should expect, I assure you," Dumbledore said. "Harry has not seen a restful sleep in two weeks. Sleep has done him more good than any potion Poppy could mix up."

"Well, how much longer do we let him sleep? If he has all the answers, Shacklebolt wants them now while we still might be able to do something with them."

"Of course," the Headmaster agreed. "I'm afraid you will have to wait for your answers, but the question of how long Harry should remain asleep is not for us to decide. He is already awake, and has been listening to you for some time."

Harry sat up slowly and watched as the Auror pulled aside the curtains and stared at him. The Auror turned first to look at Dumbledore, then back to Harry. Harry simply stared back. The Auror's eyes glanced in the direction of Ginny's bed, and he smiled sympathetically at Harry. "I'll tell Shacklebolt you're awake. We'll make sure no one bothers you until... Well, until later."

As he walked off, Dumbledore pulled back more of the curtains, allowing others to see that he was awake. A murmur seemed to go through the room as people realized that Harry was awake again.

"Good morning, Harry," Dumbledore said in a friendly voice. Harry quickly checked to see that he was still wearing his robes. He was, and it seemed they had been cleaned. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and slowly stretched hist muscles which were still stiff from the sleep he'd had on the hard tower. He turned and gave Dumbledore a serious look.

"How is Ginny?"

Dumbledore pulled back another curtain, and Harry saw Ginny laying peacefully on her bed. Her hair was still messy, but her skin was clean and the bruises he'd seen on her arms two nights ago were barely visible.

"She is sleeping, we believe," Dumbledore said quietly. "Poppy can find nothing wrong with her. Would you know if there is anything else which may be preventing her from waking up?"

Harry tried to remember anything, but he realized that he'd never seen any of the Death Eaters use any magic on her. "No," he said finally, "I don't think he let me see anything like that, but it didn't look like she was getting much sleep." Dumbledore simply nodded.

"Then we will simply wait and see what happens," he said, trying to sound encouraging. "Until then, I might suggest that you go and get yourself some food. You should still be able to find food in the Great Hall. If not, I'm sure you know where to go." His eyes twinkled as he said it, and Harry felt a smile spreading across his face. It felt refreshing.

"Ginny will be fine. I will make certain that you are able to see her as soon as possible. If I were you, I would leave quickly, before Poppy finds out you're awake," he whispered conspiratorially. "Your family is waiting outside for you, I believe. They were quite eager to see you earlier."

Harry stared at Dumbledore as he stood shakily. "If the Dursley's were eager to see me, you should have sent out the Aurors. They're obviously Death Eaters in disguise."

"I may have done just that," Dumbledore laughed, "but I did not say the Dursley's were waiting for you. It is your family on the other side of that door."

He understood immediately. "The Weasley's?" he asked, though he already knew he was right. Dumbledore nodded with a smile. Harry felt suddenly dizzy, and he could feel a cold sweat coming on. What would they say? Did they know about him and Ginny? Would Hermione and Ron have told them? His feet seemed to be glued to the floor.

"I'm afraid they have formed something of a barricade. You won't make it out past them." Dumbledore seemed to be laughing at Harry's distress. How could he not understand? With a gentle shove on his back, Dumbledore pushed Harry forward and toward the door. "Go on, they are very worried about you."

Harry knew he'd have to do it sooner or later. Now was as good a time as any. He walked toward the door, ignoring the whisperings of the people around him. At the door, he paused and listened for voices. Just as Dumbledore had said, he heard Ron talking to a number of laughing people.

"—and he was trying to use some of that wandless magic that he's got, but Ginny just ignored him, and she started to pretend that there's something really horrible behind him, like a dragon or gigantic spider—"

"—Oh no, don't tell us he fell for that!" one of the twins laughed.

"'Course he did," Ron laughed, "but that's not the best part. By time he figures out that he's just been made a fool of, Ginny's already disarming him, and his wand flies off into one of the water pitchers on the table. So, Harry tries to summon it back, but Ginny figures it out, and froze the water in the pitcher."

Harry could hear a large number of laughs coming from the other side of the door. Were they all here? Why did he have to face them all?

"The best part was the look on his face. I don't think I've seen him look so confused. It was like Goyle with his hand stuck in one of the sweets jars at Honeyduke's."

There was more laughing.

"Clever way to end a duel," a deeper voice laughed. It must have been Bill's.

"Oh, it didn't end there. They made him keep fighting." Harry couldn't make out what everyone said after this, but it seemed that there were a range of reactions, from amusement to outrage. "He blocked the next few spells, with his hands, I guess," Ron explained, "but eventually he missed one, a Tickling Charm. He mostly just flopped on the ground laughing after that. Then he sort of just passed out."

"He passed out?" a woman's voice asked. Harry felt a new wave of fear. Molly Weasley was outside. It must be all of them.

"Harry's wandless magic isn't normal," Harry heard Hermione explain, "It's more powerful than it's supposed to be, and I think it really drains him to use it. That's not the only time it's happened."

"Still, I'd give quite a few galleons to see that again," one of the twins said. "The Omnioculars from Halloween were priceless."

Harry decided that now was as good a time as any. If he was lucky, he could at least prevent the rest of the Weasley's from sharing one more of his more embarrassing moments. He slowly opened the door, and forced himself to walk through the narrow opening.

"The look on his face..." Fred was laughing, "It was—"

"Well I couldn't have looked worse than Goyle stuck in a sweets jar," Harry said as he glanced at Ron.

The entire Weasley family was indeed right outside the door along with Hermione, and at they were all staring at him in surprise. As a group, they began moving toward him quickly. For a moment, Harry wasn't sure if they were happy or furious, but that was quickly answered for him as they all surrounded him as Molly and Arthur hugged him tightly. The rest of the family were either vigorously shaking his hand or slapping him on the back.

His fear was slipping away as he saw how genuinely relieved the Weasley's were to see him. However, the happier they looked, the more guilty Harry felt. It was his fault that Ginny wasn't out here with them. If it weren't for him, they would have no reason to be here at all. Harry tried to stop them from congratulating him and thanking him, but they didn't seem to listen or care. The more he tried to stop them, the more they tried to pull him toward them.

"Oh, you must be starving," Molly exclaimed. "How long has it been since you've eaten a proper meal?" Harry just brushed the question aside and tried to apologize, but Molly ignored him. "Come on, let's get you some food."

Harry jerked his hand away, and stepped away from the closest people he had to a real family. "I'm not hungry," he said firmly.

"Did one of the elves bring you food?" Arthur asked. "One of them said he'd tell us if they did. You know, just so we'd know you were okay."

"No, they didn't—"

"Smashing, we'll go get some food. I bet the elves still remember us," Fred said as he and George turned to walk off.

"I said I'm not hungry!" Harry shouted in frustration. This seemed to get everyone's attention.

"What's the matter, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"What's the— Ginny's laying unconscious in there!"

"Well, Pomfrey's the best, isn't she?" Charlie said with a shrug. "Dumbledore said she's been through a lot, but that she'll be fine."

Harry's mouth moved soundlessly as he tried to think of the words to best explain how much the Weasley's weren't understanding the situation.

"She's in there because of me!" he finally blurted, not caring who else might hear him.

"We know, Harry," Bill said calmly, "and we'll never be able to thank you enough. You've saved Ginny twice now."

"I've... Wait— no," Harry stammered. "It's my fault she was taken. She never would have had to see... She—" He stopped himself. He couldn't tell them what he'd seen. They would just have to trust him. "You don't understand what happened. It's my fault."

"We understand, Harry," Hermione said with a sympathetic smile. "It was Ron and I who warned Dumbledore that night. If you'd have left, Voldemort would have killed her just to hurt you. That's what he wanted. You stayed, and Ginny lived."

"But she never should have been in danger," Harry argued. "I never should have let her—"

"We're all in danger, remember Harry?" interrupted Bill. "And you must know what Ginny is like. You couldn't have stopped her."

Ron looked like he might have agreed with Harry for a moment, but both of them reluctantly agreed with Bill and the rest of the Weasley's. He knew that they were right. There was nothing he could have done, and leaving would have made it worse.

The twins ran off to fetch some food from the kitchens, while Harry sat down and chatted uneasily with the Weasley's. Ron and Hermione were sitting together, but Ron had made no effort to sit next to Harry. He didn't seem to be angry with him. Instead, he seemed to feel the same discomfort Harry felt around him.

When the twins returned, they ate a noisy lunch in the hallway outside the room where Ginny lay asleep, surrounded by a number of very confused wizards. The traffic in and out of the room was constant, despite the small number of people allowed to enter, mostly a few Aurors and some official from the Ministry.

Dumbledore had not left, and Kingsley Shacklebolt had never come by, even though he had passed his classes off to other Aurors for the day. Harry understood why without anyone explaining it to him. Dumbledore wanted to be there when Ginny woke up, but he was still worried that Voldemort might do something more while everyone worried about Ginny.

Harry waited patiently for some time with the Weasleys. He tried to remain quiet mostly, but Bill and Charlie were curious about the D.A. and everything they'd been learning from the Aurors. As he talked to them, he suddenly remembered their gift. The knife was still in his one of his pockets, and it was probably still covered in blood.

He felt cold and slightly ill thinking about it. He needed to get rid of it, and soon. What if Ginny would wake up and see it? Without warning, Harry stood up, surprising Arthur and Molly, who'd been talking quietly to each other.

"I— er..." Harry stammered as he tried to think of some reason to go to his dormitory. "I have to get ready for Transfiguration."

"Are you mental?" George exclaimed. "McGonagall didn't even expect you to wake up, much less show up in her class."

"Well... I'm sorry, but I think I'd like the distraction, you know?" Hermione gave Harry a funny look.

"Oh, of course, dear," Molly said in a very motherly tone. "You go to class. You can come back when you're done. We'll let you know if anything happens."

Harry slowly walked past the Weasleys and sighed as he turned the corner, as if they might have sensed he was hiding something. The hall was empty now that he was away from the Hospital Wing. Harry was okay with the emptiness. It would mean he didn't have to deal with any questions.

His enjoyment was short lived, however, and not more than a minute after he'd left, he heard quick, heavy footfalls coming up behind him. He tried to control his anxiety, but part of him was imagining the worst news. His heart pounded a little harder in his chest when he turned and saw Bill running up to him.

"I wanted to talk to you," Bill panted as he stopped abruptly in front of Harry. "About Ginny. After she wakes up and gets out of the Hospital Wing—"

"I've already heard this from Ron," Harry said, not even trying to hide his irritation. Now simply wasn't the time for them to talk to him about this.

However, Bill looked confused. "I doubt it. Ron's been a bit protective of Ginny— Well, we all are, but Ron doesn't understand her like I do." Harry was caught off guard by his answer, and his eyes narrowed in suspicious curiosity as Bill continued to explain himself.

"Ginny... you, er... you still fancy her, don't you? I need you to be as honest as you can." Harry was surprised by how serious Bill looked as he asked the question. Finally, he nodded. Bill looked Harry in the eye.

"Stay with her," he said plainly, but it sounded to Harry like more of a plea. "She's going to need someone. And if what Hermione says is true, no one understands her like you do. And no matter how guilty you might feel about what's happened—"

"It's my fault. I'm not going to—" Harry tried to interrupt.

"—you know that she's safest when she's with you. Hermione told us what she did. She's the one who did this," Bill said, and then quickly held up his hand to stop Harry from trying to argue with him. "I'm not saying it was her fault. I'm saying that she chose to do this, because she didn't want Voldemort to user her against you. She wanted to show him that it wouldn't work. She needed to prove that to him. She'll need you to show him, too. If you avoid her—"

"Voldemort will know that it did work." Harry stared at the large torches burning on the walls. "And you think it will stop him from doing anything to Ron and Hermione? Or anyone else?"

"We all know the dangers involved, Harry," Bill said solemnly, "but if you push her away because of this, Voldemort will know just what it takes to attack you. It's getting serious, Harry. They've been keeping it out of the papers, but there is talk of closing Hogwarts until he's stopped. You know what that means."

Bill turned to walk back, but hesitated, and turned to look at Harry again. "You don't have to, Harry. I only said so because I think you both want to be together. We trust you, Harry. Just do what feels right." With that, Bill turned and slowly walked away.

Harry turned and walked the opposite direction. He was too confused to try and solve that problem right now. He was certain that Ginny would be safer if she weren't around him, but Bill had made everything more difficult. How many more friends would he lose? If everyone Voldemort attacked abandoned him, and he avoided everyone who supported him, why would Voldemort stop? Would Hermione stop being his friend? Would Ron?

As Harry climbed the stairs to his dormitory, he remembered the discussion he'd had with Dumbledore on the top of the Astronomy Tower. He had to fight back, even if that meant doing nothing. But would it matter?

As Harry slipped into new robes and wrapped the knife in his old robes, he already knew the answer. _No._ He didn't even know what he was fighting. No one did. It was just as obvious now as it ever was. Voldemort was waiting for something, but even Dumbledore could not figure out just what that was. Harry grabbed his books and set off to his Transfiguration class.

Throughout the class, his mind kept drifting. Ron and Hermione had both shown up, if only because Harry was there. Hermione was kept busy by answering questions and elbowing Harry whenever McGonagall noticed his lack of attention.

They were supposed to be learning a number of Liquefaction Charms, but Harry's mind kept returning to Voldemort. Eventually, the lecture ended, and the students were left to practicing the charms. Again, Harry showed an abnormal amount of talent with the spells. While Ron struggled with the feathers, Harry had already moved on to one of the old shoes which were sitting in a corner for their use.

"It's mostly liquid," Ron said as he held up the long stick-like spine, which was now dripping with a dark, disgusting paste. Hermione gave it a sickened look and proceeded to put it out of its misery with the correct version of the charm.

"Harry? Harry!"

Harry jumped in his seat, causing some of the students nearby to laugh quietly. He turned to see Hermione giving him a worried look.

"You were just sitting there, staring at that shoe."

"Oh. Right."

With a swish and stab of his wand, the shoe melted immediately into the large bowl in front of him. But instead of simply sitting peacefully, it began to bubble and smoke, filling the air with an acrid smell.

Professor McGonagall hurried over, and with a flick of her wand, the boiling liquid disappeared in a puff.

"Please be a bit more careful, Mr. Potter," she scolded him. "This is serious magic. You need to concentrate on it."

She turned and walked off, leaving Harry more frustrated than he was before. "Maybe I should have just stayed in the common room."

"Nonsense, Harry, you just need to learn a little more control," Hermione said, trying to be encouraging.

Harry looked into the large bowl where the liquid shoe had been. He never had problems controlling _his_ magic. This was Voldemort's magic, and he wasn't getting any better at controlling it.

"He's never going to stop," Harry said in a low voice so only Ron and Hermione could hear him.

"Who's not going to stop?" Ron asked as he finally reduced a feather to a small dark pool.

"_You know who_."

"We're not going to stop either, Harry," Hermione whispered. "That's all we can do."

Ron shrugged and looked at Harry. "It's too late to run away now." And without another thought, he stood up to get a shoe.

Hermione just smiled at Harry. Harry nodded. It really was too late. He'd never be left alone. Neither would Ron, or Hermione, or Ginny. Of course, only Harry had any chance of standing up to Voldemort. If he were to truly attack them...

He jabbed his wand, and correctly liquefied another shoe Ron had fetched for him. There was a loud _thud_ from the back of the room as the door flew open and struck the stone wall beside it. An Auror panted as he staggered into the room. McGonagall was already striding toward him with her wand drawn.

"Harry Potter," he said between gasps. "Potter... is needed in the Hospital... Hospital Wing. The Weasley girl... something's wrong."

Harry had stuffed his things in his bag and was running for the door before the Auror had even finished. Ron was right behind him, leaving Hermione to carry his bag and her own.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Those of you wondering about the 'M' rating should have your answer now. I believe I said the story was going to get a bit heavier.

And I hope you all appreciate the fact that I stayed up making sure you didn't have to wait to see what was happening to Ginny.

Just remember that while you're complaining about the slightly dark chapter.


	39. Unknown Consequences

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 39 - Unknown Consequences**

* * *

Harry ran most of the way to the Hospital Wing. The Auror who'd shown up in his Transfiguration class was lagging quite a bit behind him. Even Ron and Hermione had caught him up and passed him as they ran. 

Harry's mind barely had time to try and think of what might be wrong with Ginny. Before he even reached the door to room she'd been sleeping in, he got his first clue.

"Let me OUT!" a voice bellowed.

As Harry approached the door he heard even more shouting. It had to be Ginny, but Harry barely recognized her voice. The Weasley family was still waiting outside, but they looked as worried as Harry felt. A small group of Aurors was standing in front of the door. They parted immediately, opening the doors for him.

As Harry strode past the Weasleys, Bill grabbed his arm quickly. "Remember, Harry." Harry nodded to him and made his way past the Aurors. As he walked through the doors, he could hear Ron shouting at the Aurors. The doors closed tightly. Once inside, he stopped short. He could barely believe the sight before him.

Ginny was most definitely awake. She was perched on the headboard of her bed, with her back to one of the large windows. Large, ominous looking cracks spidered across the panes of glass, but they remained intact. The room immediately around the bed was a mess of tumbled curtains and small tables. The Aurors and other visitors were grouped in a rough semicircle around Ginny, though Harry got the impression that they weren't trying to surround her. It seemed more like they were trying to find somewhere safe to stand. Many of them had their wands drawn. One of them was raising his wand.

In front of them, roughly halfway between Ginny and the Aurors, stood Albus Dumbledore, with his wand out, but pointed in no particular direction. Ginny had a wand as well, and hers was pointed directly at Dumbledore.

"Put down the wand, girl," one of the Aurors called out.

"No!" Dumbledore warned with a commanding gaze. "No one is to do anything to her."

Harry cautiously stepped forward, realizing for the first time that there were a few bodies on the floor. One, an Auror, had obviously been hit by the full body bind. The other, to Harry's shock, was Madam Pomfrey. Harry hoped she was only stunned. Both were close to Ginny's bed, and it seemed only Dumbledore was brave enough to step that close.

"Relax and _think_, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said calmly. "Think about where you are. You're safe here."

"No one is safe anymore," Ginny replied angrily. "He's gone. Tom killed him. I _saw_ it. Let me die fighting him. It's all useless anyway..."

"You saw Voldemort kill Harry Potter?" Dumbledore asked cautiously. "In a vision or some—"

"_I was covered in his blood!_" Ginny shouted back. She held her left hand up to her face, as if she could still see the blood. "It never dried. It was everywhere... and the smell... GET BACK!" She suddenly turned on an Auror who had taken advantage of her distraction to try and retrieve the bound Auror.

Ginny fired a curse at him, but Dumbledore seemed to cast some shield in front of him, and the spell bounced off, taking a small chunk from the wall.

"Harry is not dead, Miss Weasley, He was lying asleep in that very bed not less than three hours ago," Dumbledore said as he slowly gestured toward an upturned bed next to hers.

"Don't say that!" Ginny shouted back. Harry was still slowly walking forward, and some of the visitors had noticed him now. Ginny's eyes were red, and tears were streaming slowly down her pale, freckled cheeks. "I saw it. It's hopeless. He's gone."

"No. I'm not."

Ginny turned on him so quickly that she almost fell from the bed. She seemed stunned for a moment while she tried to tell if everyone else was able to see Harry as well. She seemed to return to her senses, but instead of smiling, her face twisted into a grimace of anger and pain.

"_Get away from me!_" she screamed at Harry when he took a step toward her. "Don't-you-dare-come-any-closer!" she screamed hysterically. Harry remembered Bill's words. Only Harry knew what she'd been through. He held out his arms to show her he wasn't going to pull his wand, and slowly took a step toward her.

"No," Ginny sobbed, "you're not him!" She turned back to Dumbledore, and scowled at him. "Haven't you been listening to me you daft old man? I watched Voldemort kill him! That isn't Harry!"

"It _is_ Harry," Dumbledore replied calmly. "He has not left the castle."

"Then you're not as great at they say," Ginny said spitefully. "He came after me. I didn't want him to, but I saw him coming to protect me that night. I wanted it to be done before he knew what was happening. But I was stupid. I led him right to them. They captured him and killed him the next day, _right in front of me_."

There was a chorus of horrified gasps and confused murmurs. Both Harry and Dumbledore paused. The old wizard gave Harry an uncertain, questioning look, and Harry knew why. He turned back to Ginny and saw fear and sadness in her eyes.

"That isn't what happened," Harry said in a calming voice as he continued walking toward Ginny. He was now a little closer than even Dumbledore, but Ginny seemed to be getting more and more tense.

"I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!" she shouted loud enough for it to echo in the room. "I WATCHED HIM DIE!", she shouted, but for once it looked as if she might be doubting herself. Harry took the opportunity to take two steps closer. The moment passed, and Ginny's eyes locked on Harry.

"I didn't dream this up. It really happened, and I told you to STAY BACK!" Her left hand darted out to grab a small glass pitcher and launch it at Harry. He had no chance to move. He put his arms up over his head, and felt a mix of dull and sharp searing pain as the pitcher shattered on his forearm.

When Harry lowered his arms, he saw Ginny staring at the arm that had blocked the pitcher. Two long cuts wrapped around his forearm, bleeding slowly. As the blood dripped to the floor, Ginny turned pale, and looked like she would be sick.

"Calm down, please, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore pleaded. "What day is it, today? You were found this morning at dawn. What day would that be?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed as she looked at her Headmaster. "It's Friday. Pomfrey already told me."

"Indeed it is," Dumbledore agreed. "It is Friday, the Eleventh of April." Ginny swallowed hard, and stared at the faces around her as if she was just seeing them now. Dumbledore took a step toward her. "Miss Weasley, I think you have been Memory Charmed."

"Memory Charmed?" Ginny sneered. "Where did _this_ come from, then?" Ginny pulled a silver chain from her wrist and held it out for everyone to see. "I gave this to Harry for Christmas."

Slowly, and very carefully, Harry reached behind his neck, unclasped his own chain and pulled it out. He held it up in exactly the same manner as she did. "It's me, Ginny," Harry said as he took another step. "I never left. Ron and Hermione and Dumbledore stopped me."

Ginny turned her wand on Harry. "Prove it." Before Harry could think of any way he could prove his own identity, he heard Ginny's voice again, but this time it was hard and commanding. Harry barely had time to react after he realized what she was saying.

"_Incendio!_"

Harry ducked again and instinctively pushed out his hands toward the approaching jet of red light. Just before it reached him, there was a shower of red sparks, followed by the sound of a small blast against the opposite wall.

Ginny lowered her wand and stared at Harry in confusion. "I— I saw you die," she said in quiet voice.

"It wasn't me." Harry was quite close to her by now.

"I— Your knife..." Ginny whispered so no one else could hear.

"I took care of it," Harry whispered back. "I took it when I found you this morning."

Ginny dropped her wand, and fell to her knees on the bed. She stared at Harry, but didn't say anything more.

Behind them, Dumbledore had already started ushering everyone out of the room, including a dazed Madam Pomfrey who was not at all used to being stunned. Their departure seemed to cause a bit of a commotion in the hallway, as it was no doubt already filled with people who'd heard Ginny's shouting.

"I will return shortly, Harry." Dumbledore said as he stood by the door. "I trust you and Miss Weasley will be alright until my return?"

Once Dumbledore had stepped outside, Harry went and cautiously sat on the foot of Ginny's bed. She was laying on her side curled up in a ball and staring at the window.

"Everything is okay," Harry said quietly. "We're both fine. Whatever Voldemort was trying to do, it didn't work. I'm still here, you're back and we're together again." When Ginny didn't respond, Harry leaned toward her. "We are still together, aren't we?"

Ginny remained silent for a moment. When she finally did speak, she didn't take her eyes from the window.

"I think so," she whispered. The two of them sat in silence for some time. The only sound in the room was the ticking of a small clock and the muffled voices talking outside the door.

"What's going on, Harry?" Ginny asked as she finally looked him in the eyes. "Is all this really a diversion? It didn't feel like a diversion. The illusion? The Memory Charm? I was gone for _two weeks_, Harry. We aren't seeing things right. There's something we've missed, some mistake we've made."

"I am afraid that I agree with you Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said as he quietly walked up to them. "I do not know what that could be. I admit that there were times when I thought that Voldemort might be trying to close down Hogwarts —as he is all too close to doing— or trying to discredit Harry, something he may never be able to accomplish. The fact remains that he has yet to make any move against the Ministry or the Order."

"You still think he's waiting for something?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Perhaps, or he might be trying to move against Hogwarts, itself," answered Dumbledore. "All of his actions seem to be attempting to rid Hogwarts of its students, and specifically you."

"Why wouldn't he just kill us?" Ginny asked.

"You are no threat to him, and you should be thankful for that. He sees greater value in your return and the spreading of your fear. Many students have already left. Of the houses, Gryffindor has had the fewest, yet those are still too many."

"That can be dealt with later. For now, we need to take care of young Miss Weasley," he said with a smile. "I fear Madam Pomfrey will not forget what you've done, but she may someday forgive you. I do find the use of the Memory Charm worth some thought. It may be that you have seen something you were not meant to have seen. When you are feeling a little better we may speak of it again." Ginny didn't seem to like the prospect of that, but she nodded anyway. Dumbledore quickly walked about repairing and replacing upturned tables and beds. Harry helped where he could, cleaning up spilled potions and repairing the cracked windows. When he was finished, Dumbledore wiggled his wand at Harry's arm, and fresh white bandages wrapped around it, and Harry could feel a warm tingling around the cuts.

"Poppy will be needing this, I'm afraid," Dumbledore said as he gently took the wand Ginny had been using from the bed. "I'm afraid we have not found your wand. Perhaps I should convince Ollivander to pay you a visit tomorrow?"

"I have her wand," Harry said quietly. "I'll bring it down tonight."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said with a clap. "Come, Harry. Miss Weasley needs her rest, and Poppy needs her wand. I don't think she will be pleased with either of us, tonight."

"Sir," Ginny called out as Harry followed Dumbledore, "Will I be let out soon?"

"That will be up to Madam Pomfrey, I'm afraid," he said with a faint smile, "though I can't imagine she will be eager for you to stay for very long. If you are lucky, you will only miss your Potions class on Monday, but I think I can guarantee that you will be released well before Gryffindor's last Quidditch match."

* * *

Ron was in a sour mood all through supper that night. He was quite annoyed at having to wait outside in the hallway while Harry had been let in to talk with Ginny. Harry was in no mood to argue with him about it, so he was thankful that Hermione was there to argue for him. 

The only thing which made supper bearable was the fact that he was not getting nearly as many looks as he would have expected. It was almost as if the rest of the students didn't find his life terribly interesting anymore. Even Malfoy seemed to be ignoring him, though he also looked generally less happy than he had while Ginny was gone. Harry pointed it out to Ron and Hermione.

"We'll it's not half of what that git deserves," Ron growled as he reached for more bread. "If he's not the one who tipped off Voldemort, I'll eat my broom."

Harry didn't doubt it either, and Hermione said nothing to convince them otherwise. After they finished eating, the three of them returned to the Gryffindor common room. Until then, everyone had been mostly keeping their distance, but almost immediately after the portrait closed behind them, Katie Bell and Jack Sloper were walking along side them as they went to sit by the fire.

"It's great to have you back, Harry," Jack said enthusiastically. "We were a bit worried, you know. The Ravenclaw match is only a week away, and it's not like we have a reserve Seeker."

"Thanks."

"Speaking of that, we heard that Ginny was awake and out of bed just this afternoon." Harry rolled his eyes. Their attempts to sound conversational were failing. Harry would have bet his wand that they'd been rehearsing this since supper. "I was talking with the others, and we heard that you got in to see her. We were wondering —not like it matters, you know— how bad off she was. We're just worried about a fellow Gryffindor, and all."

"Don't worry, Dumbledore said she'll be out before the match," Harry said flatly. "She's not really hurt, so it shouldn't be long."

Katie flopped back in her chair, with a relieved sigh. "That's really good news. Jack, go tell that MacLaren bloke that we won't be needing him after all."

Ron stared at Katie in disbelief. "You'd already given away Ginny's spot?"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Ron," Katie said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "He's really dreadful. Ginny's much better than he is."

Ron crossed his arms with a huff, and shook his head. "Why are all the Quidditch captains mental?"

"Are you volunteering for next year?" Katie challenged.

"Maybe I am!" Ron replied.

"But next year are N.E.W.T.s, and you're already a prefect," Hermione protested. Ron rolled his eyes. "And Harry's been on the team longer than you have," Hermione added. "Shouldn't he be the captain?"

"Not bloody likely," Harry barked. "It's not like I don't have enough to do. D.A. meetings are quite enough for me, thanks." Harry stood up and began walking toward the stairs to the dormitories. "You're welcome to it. I have to return Ginny's wand. I'll be back."

Harry fetched Ginny's wand from his trunk, and when he came back down a moment later, both Ron and Katie were smiling as if they had won some argument. Harry just shook his head as he walked past them.

Dumbledore had been right. Harry did not feel at all welcome in the Hospital Wing. It wasn't that Madam Pomfrey was upset at anything Harry had done that afternoon, but instead she completely opposed the idea of giving Ginny a wand that she would be even more effective with. Ginny, however, was much more appreciative.

"Thanks, Harry," she said, giving him her first genuine smile since she'd come back to Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey conspicuously found some work to do in another room, leaving Harry alone with Ginny.

"She doesn't trust me," Ginny said in a low voice. "I apologized, and she said that she wasn't upset, but she still refuses to turn her back to me." Ginny gave a small shrug.

"I guess I should have tried that a long time ago," Harry said. Ginny smiled again. Her smile slowly faded and she looked down at the floor.

"They said you were in here this morning."

"I was. Fawkes spent all day yesterday looking for you. I barely slept, and I hadn't slept well for quite a while before that."

"You had dreams? Visions?" Ginny asked quietly. Harry nodded. He hadn't hidden them from her the previous summer, why should he start now?

"Was I in them?"

"Yes," he answered, "but there weren't many visions. At least, I assume so. I only remember a few of them."

"What— What did you see?" Ginny seemed reluctant to question Harry about this. "What happened to me?"

"I didn't see much," Harry started. "I only saw it when Voldemort was there. I guess he didn't visit you all that often."

"You said that you found me." Ginny waited for Harry to agree. "The others... _Something_ happened to all of them. Dean can't see. Susan can't walk —or can she?"

"She never came back after the Easter holidays." Harry said flatly.

"Right," Ginny said with a frown. "So... did you see... or— Do you have any idea what happened to me?"

"Well, you remember the—" but Harry stopped himself. "You remember what happened right before they let you go."

"I don't think that was it. I think that was for you."

"Well there wasn't much else." It was frustrating trying to think of what horrible thing that he might have missed. "There was a Boggart."

Ginny's eyes closed, and she looked almost embarrassed. "No... that couldn't be it either."

"Maybe they didn't do anything to you. Maybe you were just bait?" That didn't seem to make her feel any better, so Harry tried something else. "The rest of them were just attacked. You were taken away. Maybe the attacks have changed again, just like they did after the platform at King's Cross. The rest of them all had scars, and Pomfrey didn't see anything on you."

Ginny looked away. "Maybe you're right. I'm just confused." She pulled the bed covers tighter around her. "And tired. I need sleep. You'll visit me tomorrow?"

Harry promised that he would, and even gave her a light kiss on the forehead before he walked back to Gryffindor Tower. He'd have to tell Hermione about the changes in the attacks. Maybe she'd be able to understand what it might mean. Maybe it meant that Voldemort wasn't going to be waiting much longer.

* * *

Over the next few days Ginny seemed to be returning to normal, though she was still as quiet as she had been just before being taken. However, as they days passed, it became more and more obvious that something wasn't right. There was something about the way that Ginny was acting that seemed off. 

Harry tried on a couple occasions to try and talk to her about it. After the first try it became quite obvious that she wasn't interested in even acknowledging the question with anyone else around. When he asked again as they walked back from another Quidditch practice, he finally got some response.

"You've been acting a bit odd lately," he said in a low voice.

"Is that odd for me, or odd for someone who's just spent two and a half weeks imprisoned by Death Eaters?" Harry didn't know how to respond, so he just waited silently, hoping that she might give him some other answer. In time she did.

"I'm fine, really," she said in a slightly shaky voice. "Don't worry about it. I promise I'll do better than I did against Hufflepuff."

"It's not Quidditch that I'm worried about."

"It should be," Ginny said as she stared at the ground. "It's Katie's last match and it'll be for the cup. She'd be upset if you were flying around worrying about me when you should be concentrating on the Snitch."

It was just another dodge, and Harry couldn't get Ginny to talk about anything other than the upcoming match. When they got back to the common room, Ginny disappeared up the stairs and didn't come back down all night. Harry pulled Hermione off to a corner and tried to talk to her. Ron wanted to follow them, but Hermione successfully stopped him. Harry eventually summoned the courage to try and ask at least a few of the questions that were flying about in his head.

She helped somewhat, though not as much as Harry had hoped. After all his questions were answered, they invited Ron over and quietly tried to discuss what had happened to Ginny in the quietest whispers they could manage.

One thing seemed clear. Her attack had been different. Harry had suggested that perhaps it was the start of some new set of attacks, but Hermione and Ron didn't see it. He tried to think of all the differences, but in the end, it wasn't as convincing as it sounded when he had been talking with Ginny.

"It wasn't like all the rest of them, though," he argued.

"How isn't it?" Ron asked. "Because they took her instead of just attacking her and leaving?"

"She wasn't hacked off at me," Harry replied. "The rest of them were."

"Dumbledore wasn't," Hermione interrupted. "And neither was Susan. They couldn't have known that you weren't going to say that Susan had said yes. They probably guessed you'd tell the truth and it would look like anyone who went to the ball with you would be attacked."

"Neville was like the rest."

"The rest of who, Harry?" Ron asked. "Millicent attacked _Hermione_, not you. Snape's been nasty to you all year. Dumbledore hasn't done anything. A load of Aurors saw you trying to protect Dean. Susan said yes. Ginny wasn't upset at you. There never was a pattern. The only pattern is _you_."

Harry couldn't tell if Ron sounded supportive or upset. Hermione had agreed with Ron, and there wasn't much point in trying to argue. Nothing he said was wrong. Maybe there really wasn't any pattern, but there was something they all had in common.

"They were all marked," Harry said in a low voice. "Ginny wasn't."

"How do you know that?" Ron asked slowly.

"I heard Pomfrey talking about her while everyone thought I was still sleeping."

"No one knew about Dumbledore's mark," Hermione said hesitantly. "I've looked and I still haven't seen it. Pomfrey was looking for injuries, she might have missed it."

Ron glared at her. "You say that like you hope she's actually got one."

"I do, Ron," Hermione responded. "I don't want things to go back to the way they were when we were at Grimmauld Place, do you? If she isn't marked, it may be the first sign that Voldemort is finished waiting. The Order isn't ready. Neither is the Ministry."

Harry went to sleep that night feeling very much more worried than he was when he woke up that morning. Nothing had changed. Harry could feel it. If Voldemort were moving forward with some plan, he would have gloated about it. If something was changing, he'd have known.

Maybe Madam Pomfrey had missed the mark. He'd only really seen the one on Dean's temple. It was an ugly red color, as if it was from a nasty burn, but it had also been quite recently given. Ginny might have had hers for a week or more. Maybe it would have just looked like an old scar. Why would Pomfrey tell Dumbledore about an old scar she found?

The next night after dinner, Harry decided that there was only one way he could ever get Ginny to talk to him about it. As they walked back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry gently steered Ginny toward the Library.

"Er, Harry... The Tower's that way," she said as she stopped to look at him.

"I was going to help you catch up with Transfiguration."

"I don't need help with Transfiguration," she replied stubbornly.

"You missed quite a bit while you were gone, and the O.W.L.s are still coming."

"Not tonight, Harry."

"Tomorrow night, then?" Harry suggested.

"She doesn't want to go with you, Harry," Ron called out from behind him. "Come on, Ginny. I'll take you back to the common room."

If there was anything that could have made Ginny change her mind and go with Harry, it was the sound of Ron's voice ordering her to walk away from Harry. With a scowl, she turned back to Harry.

"You want to practice Transfiguration?" she asked threateningly, "Fine. Let's go practice, then." She turned and walked briskly away from Ron and Hermione, leaving Harry to try and catch up. When he finally got to the abandoned office, he found her standing in the center of the room and staring at him strangely.

"What did you want to talk about, Harry?"

"We've barely talked since you left the Hospital Wing. You've spent more time in your dormitory than you have in the common room. I just wanted to talk to you and make sure that you're doing—"

"Nice try, Harry," she interrupted him. "You've got something a little more specific on your mind than that, so just ask."

Harry stared back at her for a moment, suddenly uncomfortable with his own thoughts. "Ron and Hermione don't think the attacks are changing."

"Well they don't have quite the same perspective on it as I do, do they?" Ginny mumbled as she turned toward the window. "And what do you think, Harry? Did it feel the same when Crabbe had his arm broken?"

Of course it hadn't. But then, he hadn't felt anything at with Millicent, and he probably blocked everything with Snape. Beyond that, each time seemed to be getting more and more intense. It was a revelation that didn't inspire much courage for the future.

"Each time has been different," he told her instead. "None of them have been the same, but they've all been linked to me, and they've all been marked."

"They?" Ginny laughed coldly. "Don't you mean 'you'? Or perhaps it should be 'us'? You were the first victim, after all. At least you know what happened to you."

"The marks are all related to the reason the people were attacked," Harry explained as he walked toward her. "Crabbe's arm was marked because he broke mine, Susan's legs were marked because she was going to the Ball with me, and Neville's chest was marked because we broke his heart.

"No. You're wrong," Ginny said quietly. "Neville's chest was marked because his memories are ripping his heart to pieces. Susan's legs were marked so that she would remember that she couldn't walk because of you, and Crabbe's arm was marked so everyone would connect it with you."

Harry walked around Ginny to look her in the face. "And you were Memory Charmed, so you should have a mark somewhere on your head." He started searching around her temples, ears and jawline for any mark. Ginny pushed him away and glared at him.

"The marks aren't important!" she said as she stepped away from him.

"Well, if you want to figure out what happened—"

"I DON'T!" she shouted. "I don't, Harry. Please don't try to figure it out. It's not important."

"You _were_ marked, weren't you?"

"Harry, you _have to_ trust me," Ginny pleaded. "The scars... they're distractions... diversions—"

"What happened to you?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" she yelled as tears started trailing down from the corners of her eyes. "Sometimes there's nothing else in the world I want more than to know what Tom did, and other times I would give anything to never have to think of it again."

"There is a mark, though, isn't there?"

"Harry... Please, you have to let it go. Please," she begged. She was pale and shaking. It took Harry a moment to realize that she was completely terrified.

"What do you remember?" he asked her in a gentle voice. "Everything is okay now. You're safe here. Everything that happened, it's in the past. It's all over."

Ginny's eyes stopped moving and she simply stared back at Harry. "No, it's not," she whispered. "It'll never be over. I... I have to go."

She turned and jerked the door open and ran out of the office and down the corridor. Harry could hear the echoes of her shoes hitting the cool stone floors as he watched her turn a corner and disappear down another corridor.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

That's it for tonight. Let me know what you think. I won't be giving you all a teaser for the next chapters. It doesn't really seem appropriate. Instead, I'll pose a question to ponder:

Why has Ginny changed her mind about the Marks?


	40. Katie's Quidditch Concerns

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 40 - Katie's Quidditch Concerns**

* * *

As the last days before the Quidditch Final approached, Harry found himself spending more time thinking about Ginny and what might possibly have caused her behavior that night in the abandoned office than the upcoming match. It had gone so far as to cause him to be yelled at a number of times during the Gryffindor team's final practice. He'd completely missed the Snitch a number of times, and Katie was understandably upset. Cho Chang was a better Seeker than Draco had been. Ginny hadn't waited around for him after practice and she spent most of the night silently reading her History of Magic book and ignoring everyone around her. 

The next day, a Friday, was even worse. It was only two days before the Quidditch Final, and he felt lucky to simply make it through the day. It seemed that everything was going wrong for him. Ginny wasn't avoiding him, but she wasn't acting terribly friendly either. During breakfast she ate even slower than he did, and made up an excuse to slip away early as if she knew that Harry would try and talk to her before her first class.

During Herbology, he was nearly sent to the Hospital Wing after he stumbled over a pot of Venom Ivy and lost the feeling in his legs for half of the class. Ron had panicked for only a little while, while Professor Sprout rummaged in the storage closet for the antidote.

After regaining the ability to walk, he managed to upset Ginny again by simply asking her how she was feeling. He hadn't meant it as an attempt to get her to talk about her attack, but he realized how it sounded as he watched her grab her bag and walk out of the Great Hall. Harry was tempted to walk after her, but a subtle shake of Hermione's head told him it was best to let her go.

Transfiguration was even worse. His mind just didn't seem to want to concentrate on anything but Ginny and what she'd said. She was scared of something, but she couldn't tell him. There were loads of other things she'd told him, and he'd told her tons of things he hadn't told anyone else. What could this be that was so horrible that she couldn't tell him?

In some ways, it felt like she was still missing. She wasn't the same witch who'd taught him to dance before the Ball. She hardly smiled, and spent hours behind open books, staring at the floor or wall more than the text in front of her. She didn't act angry or annoyed with him, so long as he wasn't asking her about what had happened. She dutifully held his hand when they walked together, and even gave him the occasional kiss on the cheek before going to bed.

Behind all of that, Harry caught glimpses of the thing that was troubling him so much. When she'd woken up in the Hospital Wing, she'd been filled with rage and despair. When she realized that Harry was still alive, her first emotion was not happiness, but fear. He could still see it in her eyes at times. Something was frightening her more than Harry had ever seen. It couldn't be Voldemort or the Death Eaters, and it didn't seem to be the memories of what had happened to her.

Perhaps it was the lack of memories, Harry wondered. He'd been afraid of the same thing after his first vision of Voldemort that summer. Maybe she'd get better once Dumbledore found a way to remove the Memory Charm.

Of course, Professor McGonagall didn't care about any of that. All she cared about was the fact that Harry had turned one her chairs into a pixie which proceeded to destroy a bookshelf full of books which looked to be older than McGonagall herself.

He spent the entire time from the end of class through the end of dinner cleaning and fixing up the bookshelf. McGonagall didn't ask about the cause of his distraction, but the familiarity he found in the look of disapproval she gave him suggested that she knew better than most other people around the school. He was glad to be able to leave without her forcing him to discuss it.

As he approached the Fat Lady, he heard voices coming from the around a bend in the corridor. She tried to give him the sternest look she could, but after spending three hours with Professor McGonagall, it didn't make him feel nearly guilty enough to stop him from listening. He froze as he recognized Ginny's voice.

"Can't we do this some other time? Harry should be coming back any minute."

"That's why I need to talk to you now." The other voice was clearly Katie's, and she sounded a little tense.

"Fine," sighed Ginny, "Then talk and get it over with."

"You're distracting our Seeker."

There was a faint choking noise. "I'm— You think—" Ginny stammered before pausing for a moment. "He's a bit more than our Seeker to me, and you know —You better be joking about this," she said, sounding almost threatening.

"I'm serious, Ginny. You saw him yesterday. He couldn't have beaten Cho if she were blindfolded. Hermione told me what happened in Transfiguration and I heard at lunch how he barely walked out of Herbology. If things don't change _soon_, I swear to you I'll pull Potter and put you in his place. I can find another Chaser, and one horrible Chaser is a lot less damaging than a Seeker who can't even concentrate enough to fly."

"Katie, we're dealing with things you don't know about, and it's—"

"Then deal with them, and stop distracting him. If not for Quidditch than just for his sanity."

"He's the one who's distracted," Ginny hissed. "I haven't done anything!"

"Maybe you should," Katie replied. "Maybe he just needs to be distracted in a different way. I'm sure you know what I mean."

There was a long pause. "I don't think that's going to help as much as you think," Ginny said slowly.

"You'd be surprised," Katie replied. "If snogging in the Room of Requirements is what it'll take, then I'll wait all night by the portrait to see that you make it back. If it's something else, tell me what I can do to help and then _do it_."

"Look, it's not that easy," Ginny whispered, "This is different. I— I just can't. There's nothing I can do. It's better this way, I swear." There was another pause, Harry heard Katie mumbling something and then the sound of shoes walking toward him."

"No!" Ginny called out. "No, let him play, please. I'll talk to him. It'll be alright. Just trust me." There was another pause, then Ginny tried a different argument. "I don't have a chance against Cho. Harry's your only shot."

"Fine," Katie replied in a disappointed voice. "It's up to you, then. But if I lose a league position because of Potter, there'll be one more witch he'll need protection from." Harry heard her walking toward him and he quickly leaped toward the wall and pressed himself flat into a small hollow between a pair of columns. As he'd hoped, she was just returning to the common room, and he relaxed as the portrait closed behind her.

He stayed where he was, waiting for Ginny to follow her, but she didn't. After waiting for a minute or more, Harry gave up. Ginny must have walked off in the other direction. He began feeling a little bad for his recent performances in practice. He hadn't considered that Katie might have been hoping for a position on one of the professional teams, or that his failures might reflect poorly on her. With a sigh, he walked to the Fat Lady, trying to think of some way of apologizing to Katie.

"Mum used to give me chores to do when I eavesdropped," Ginny announced from behind him. Harry spun around to see her standing quietly against the wall behind him with a look of passive annoyance. "At least, she did when she caught me. She said it wasn't polite."

Harry tried denying it. "I wasn't—"

"Yes, you were," Ginny interrupted, "but I don't mind. It just saves me from having to talk to you about it. You reckon you heard enough to get the point?"

"Yeah."

"Right then," Ginny said with a small smile. She walked past Harry and told the Fat Lady the password. Harry walked into the common room behind her. Katie was whispering to Sloper and Kirke, but stopped as she saw Harry. She looked over toward Ginny for a moment before returning to Harry. He knew what she wanted to know. He gave her a quick nod. She returned the gesture and went back to talking with the Beaters.

The rest of the night was uneventful. Most of the house was spending the night working on homework or trying to get some early revision done for the O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s

The next day was equally uneventful. The Quidditch match was far from exciting. It was difficult to find it too thrilling when everyone knew that whoever won would still only be in third place, with no hope of improving their standing.

It had been a respectably close match, with the highlight coming about halfway through the match when Goyle took a Bludger to the face. Play had stopped for a minute or two while Madam Pomfrey stopped the bleeding. Though he had stopped bleeding, Goyle never did recover. He swerved about over the pitch, missing more Bludgers than he hit.

Being down a Beater, Slytherin struggled to keep up, and soon Hufflepuff had a modest lead. It wouldn't matter, however, as Malfoy finally spotted the Snitch and was circling the Slytherin goal hoops a minute later, celebrating as if his victory actually mattered.

* * *

Harry struggled all through the next morning to try and keep his mind on the Quidditch Final. Ginny had stopped avoiding him for the moment, and was acting almost natural around him. He found himself worrying about the cause of the change in her behavior, and had to scold himself to do as Ginny and Katie had asked him. 

The longer he waited the harder it was to keep his mind on the match. Ginny wasn't acting normally. She wanted everyone to think that she was, but when no one was looking, she would return to the same frightened look he'd remembered from their argument in the abandoned office.

An hour before the match, she disappeared, only to suddenly appear just as Katie was calling the meeting in the locker rooms. Katie made no comment but glared at Harry as if waiting for him to simply walk off. The meeting was long and mostly boring for Harry. His job was simple: beat Cho Chang to the Snitch. The teams were well matched, but most of the school still regarded Harry as the best Seeker Hogwarts had seen for some time. In truth, the match probably rested on the unreliable shoulders of the Gryffindor Beaters. If they couldn't keep Harry and the Chasers from spending all their time dodging Bludgers, then Ravenclaw would have the advantage.

Before he realized what was happening, the team was standing and walking out onto the pitch. Harry jogged to catch up with them, earning him a withering glare from Katie. The Ravenclaws were already out, and Harry barely had time to tighten his robes and guards before the Quaffle was tossed up for the Chasers.

Harry took off and immediately started searching for Cho. He was feeling a little less confident of his own abilities and wanted to make sure that she didn't do the same thing she'd done to Malfoy in her last match. She was already climbing high above the pitch, and Harry pulled up on his broom to follow her.

After only a short time, he was so far above the pitch, he couldn't tell how well the rest of his team was doing. Cho was keeping her distance, and moving fairly quickly, making Harry stay as close as he could in case at some instant she might suddenly make a dash for the Snitch.

The weather was clear and there wasn't any wind. With the match so far below him, and Cho out of earshot from him, the sky felt empty. He looked about and realized that there wasn't really much chance of either of them spotting the Snitch where they were. The whole pitch seemed to blink with hundreds of small glints. From the distance they were at, it was impossible to tell the difference between the Snitch and the flash of sunlight off someone's robes as they shot up the field.

Harry pulled his broom to a halt, and made a quick decision. He'd never figure out what Cho was trying to do up here. Perhaps the whole point was to keep him wondering what she was up to while she waited for some signal to come down. It didn't really matter. He'd never see the Snitch where he was now, so he might as well go where he had a chance.

Deciding to test her a bit, Harry tipped the front of his broom down toward the pitch and dropped out of the sky at a frightening speed. He looked over to see Cho doing just what he'd hoped: she was diving after him. She hadn't had any reason to be that high. When they reached a height that Harry was more comfortable with, he pulled up and leveled off.

Cho, however, did not. She zoomed past him, still picking up speed as she dropped toward the grass. Harry hadn't seen anything. What was Cho doing. Harry turned around to watch her. It was just another feint, he told himself, she's upset that she fell for mine, and is trying to make up for it.

As she neared the pitch, Harry's certainty wavered and he slowly started gaining speed, waiting for the glint of sunlight off gold to tell him what Cho was aiming toward. Finally, she pulled up, less than twenty feet from the ground. Harry saw the scowl on her face when she turned and saw that he hadn't followed her. What had she been trying to do?

A quick look at the scoreboard told the answer. Gryffindor was actually trailing by twenty points despite what looked to be fine flying by all three of their Chasers. As Harry circled the pitch, he saw why. Kirke and Sloper were doing better, but they hadn't been prepared for the intensity with which Ginny and Katie were being targeted. Without Harry around to draw some attention from the Beaters, they'd turned on Gryffindor's best Chasers, and made the match much more difficult.

After Harry's feint they seemed to pay more attention to him, and he tried to spend more time closer to the action, hoping that they would lay off a little, while trying to fly fast enough that they wouldn't actually succeed at harassing him.

It seemed to work, and Katie scored three goals in a row, putting them back in the lead. Ginny, unfortunately, did not seem to have that much better of a time. There were less Bludgers headed her way, but she never seemed to be able to avoid them as much as she did in practice. There wasn't much he could do, so Harry tried to force himself to focus on the Snitch. If he found it, this would all be over.

Cho seemed to adopt a similar strategy and they both soared around the pitch hoping to catch sight of the Snitch. The longer the match went the harder it was for Harry. Ginny wasn't doing so well. She'd been hit by two Bludgers already and he thought she seemed to be favoring her left arm a bit.

Cho was following him more closely than before, but Harry didn't concern himself with it too much. Ginny had nearly fallen off her broom dodging another Bludger and Harry turned to fly past her and make sure she was alright. As he did, she scowled at him, then winced as she pointed behind him with her left arm.

Cho was flying very low over the pitch. Harry yanked on his handle, to follow her, and in only a few seconds he'd passed her. She'd been flying much too slowly to catch the Snitch, if it would have even been nearby.

Harry resumed his patrols around the pitch, and found Cho headed right toward him. She made no move to turn aside and at the last moment, Harry turned to avoid her. She circled and as she passed him he saw her wave her arm, and then there was a sharp pain in his shoulder. Had she thrown a rock at him? He turned to follow her as she soared toward the Ravenclaw goal hoops.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" he shouted as she dropped toward the pitch. Madam Hooch was on the other side and probably wouldn't hear what they were saying.

"What are you playing at, Potter?" she shouted. "I don't want to win because you threw the match."

"Threw the match?" Harry shouted back. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you completely ignoring the Snitch when it's flying right beneath you." Harry jerked his head down to try and see the Snitch. "It's not there now," Cho said as she rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Potter: you're not trying to lose the match?"

"No!" he shouted.

"You're certain?"

"Of course."

"The Snitch is hovering just under the Gryffindor goal hoops. Ron's been trying to get your attention for a minute now."

Harry turned to look, and saw Ron waving his arms over his head. Harry looked below him and caught what could have been the sparkle of the Snitch. Before he could decide what to do, he was nearly knocked off his broom as Cho zipped off toward it. Harry heard a collective gasp from the crowd as they saw her fly off. Without another thought, Harry leaned forward and shot off after her.

Cho had a lead, but not so much that Harry didn't have a chance. As he slowly caught up to her, he saw the Snitch zipping around nervously while both Seekers raced for it. It seemed to be edging off to one side, and Harry took a gamble and started turning off toward that side.

Seconds later, the Snitch veered quickly off in the direction Harry was already headed. Cho turned violently to follow it, and Harry pressed himself to his broom and turned in a tight loop, nearly colliding with Cho as they briefly crossed paths.

He was just behind her now, and still closing the distance between them. The Snitch had turned again and was headed directly for the Ravenclaw Keeper. They streaked past her, forcing her to dive away or risk being knocked from her broom by her own Seeker.

Harry and Cho dove for the pitch after the Snitch slowed and dropped out of the air. As they skimmed the grass, Harry pulled ahead of her, and was almost within reach of the Snitch. It was still flying erratically, and they were forced to swerve wildly to stay behind it.

Harry stretched his arm to grab it, but it dodged sharply to the left. He turned to try again, but paused as he heard Cho give a wild shout. He turned to his right, but barely understood what was happening. Cho was leaping through the air toward him. He felt a pain in his back like being hit with a Bludger and then it was gone. He turned back to his left in time to see Cho reaching for the Snitch as she flew through the air... without her broom.

Harry felt a moment of panic as he watched her hand reach for the Snitch, only to have it replaced with shock as her fingertips fumbled the Snitch, grabbing one of its wings for only an instant, before she dropped and tumbled across the pitch. Harry yanked on the handle of his Firebolt and circled around, hoping that she was alright.

"Potter!" he heard Katie shouting from above him. "GET THE SNITCH!"

He cleared his mind and found the Snitch flying drunkenly over the spot where Cho lay grass-covered and defeated. He flew over toward it, and easily snatched it from the air. He landed a second later, and ran toward Cho.

She seemed to be both happy and annoyed to see him. Perhaps she would have reacted better were he not still holding the Snitch. A number of students were running toward them now, along with Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall. She seemed to be just fine, though her robes were completely ruined.

"I almost wouldn't have minded losing if you'd have pulled that off," Katie said as she pulled Cho to her feet. Cho shrugged and returned a small smile. "I almost wouldn't have minded winning. It was my only chance. Harry would have had it in a second anyway."

"Good match, Harry," Katie said with a firm handshake. "You had us worried for a bit." Harry looked down at the grass. Ravenclaw would have won if Cho hadn't pointed out the Snitch. He glanced toward Cho and saw her staring at the ground as well. He didn't understand why she'd done it, but it seemed she didn't want to share it with anyone else.

"Thanks for making sure I'm alright," she said to him, steering the conversation away from the match. "It's nice, but I'm sure you've got better places to be." Harry gave her a strange look. She stared back and pointed off toward the center of the pitch. "I believe Ginny has a broken arm. She _is_ your girlfriend, right?"

Harry turned and ran off to find Ginny. By the time he arrived Pomfrey had already mended the bone and Ginny was smiling lightly. "Good job, Harry. I guess I won't have to hide from Katie tonight, after all."

That night the Gryffindor common room hosted yet another celebration for yet another Quidditch Cup win. McGonagall warned them all that there were still classes the next day and that none of the professors would accept a late party as an excuse for falling asleep in class.

Nonetheless the party continued on late into the night with the help of some silencing charms. Harry eventually went to bed, and fell almost immediately into a deep, though not quite peaceful sleep.

* * *

When Harry awoke the next day, he hoped that the completion of the Quidditch season might somehow make Ginny more relaxed and willing to talk to him about whatever it was that was bothering her. 

Instead, she seemed as gloomy as the weather, which seemed to worsen as the day wore on. If anything, she seemed to react to his questions and prodding even worse than before. He'd pretty much ruined any chance at an enjoyable lunch by trying to get her to talk to him outside the Great Hall.

He'd almost gotten used to Ginny's cold indifference, but Ron had started to notice her odd behavior and was asking questions now too. Ginny was even less polite with him than she was with Harry. Hermione got upset at the three of them for interrupting what had been a relaxing lunch, and the four of them spent the rest of their meal sitting in tense silence.

When she finished what little food she'd taken, Ginny stood slowly and walked to the Head Table. Ron, Hermione and Harry watched as she spoke to Professor McGonagall. They seemed to talk for quite some time before McGonagall stood up and left through one of the side doors. Ginny stood around for a bit longer, as if she was trapped and had no where to go. Finally she walked back down the aisle, completely ignoring Harry and the rest of her friends on her way out of the Hall.

Harry stumbled through the rest of his day, simply wanting it to end. Something was happening. He could feel it. Something was terrifying Ginny, and she wouldn't talk about it. It must have had something to do with the attack. It seemed clear now that whatever was scaring her was the same the same thing that made her uncomfortable when Harry had been asking about her mark.

Where was it? What message had it meant to send? What about it could possibly make Ginny so afraid of talking about it, that she couldn't even share it with him?

Harry succeeded in not getting in any trouble that day, but it was due more to luck than any greater concentration. When supper came that night, he barely spoke to Ginny, and she barely spoke back. They seemed otherwise happy, and she even smiled at him and held his hand as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower.

Harry didn't understand what was happening, and it didn't help that she leaned against his legs and read a book while he and Ron tried to work on some spells for Charms class.

Harry went to sleep quite confused that night. That noon, the only reaction he'd been able to get out of Ginny had been an annoyed glare, but that night she'd given him a kiss as she left to walk up to her dorm. In his heart, he knew part of the explanation. She was ignoring her fear. Whatever she was worried about was still there, but so long as Harry ignored it, she could too.

He wasn't sure how long he'd be able to do that. He couldn't take it much longer. If something horrible was about to happen, he at least wanted to know what to expect. He tried to let it go. If Ginny could do it, he could too. He'd just have to trust that she wouldn't let anything too terrible happen. She'd never let anyone be hurt because she didn't tell them they were in danger.

Unless, of course, she was the one in danger.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

I know I usually post multiple chapters at a time, but I'm a bit anxious about the next Chapter, and felt like I'd get a better response if I gave everyone time to get used to the flow of the plot. Maybe I'm just being overly worrisome, but I find myself in an odd dilemma. I wrote a story. This is how it was in my head. Now that people are reading it and enjoying it, I find myself hoping I don't alienate or turn away readers.

I've decided to take the "literary integrity" standpoint and stand behind my story as it is. You all will just have to trust me. I mean, you made it this far, right?

In case some of you will need some encouragement, a brief note on characters: As I've said before (though maybe not here...) this plot existed in my head outside of the Harry Potter universe. It just sort of fit after I read OotP. Some of the behaviors of the characters are slightly different here. I think they are plausible differences (eg: Hermione, Neville). One thing I keep getting complimented on is my portrayal of Ginny. While the thing that made this story possible was the stronger personality she showed in OotP. I am using her for a distinctly different purpose than Rowling ever would (I would guess) or that most other fan-fiction writers have (from what I've heard). As you are just starting to realize, Ginny is at the center of many of the themes of the story, in some cases even more than Harry is. I used the analogy of a roller coaster before. If Harry is at the back of the train, still waiting to see what is in store for him, then Ginny is at the front. She's not more important than he is, but her perspective is not limited to what she learns from him.

So, onto some review responses:

From Jack-A-Roe:

_On Critical Reviews_: When I said "critical reviews", I meant "reviews critiquing the story itself", and not necessarily "bad reviews". Of course, if someone's view of the story is bad, then by all means, a bad review is in order. I didn't really see your review as complaining at all. You were merely pointing out some weak spots. In the first instance, I had already noted them to myself, though I either hadn't found a better way, or decided there really wasn't a better way. I'm glad you took the time to write it (and the other two). I certainly wouldn't want you to stop. If anything, I'm disappointed I couldn't find someone like you to help me edit it two months ago.

_The Fight in the Hall_: I can see your point, and perhaps this is a case of my history coloring my story. I didn't really mean for Malfoy's shove to be terribly aggressive. It was supposed to be the type of shove which people (If they're jerks) do with one hand when passing some person they really dislike. Harry and Ron are older now, and I felt it was more out of character for them to start a brawl in the hall over a petty shove and some verbal abuse. Especially since Ron started it, really. When I was Harry's age, it took a bit more than that to make me want to retalliate. Of course, I never actually did retalliate, but I was a bit more intimidating than Harry is. Hard to say how it should be. The plot didn't really call for a fight, but I certainly see your point.

_Harry and Ginny_: Though I know there's no way you could know this, you've actually pointed out one of the problems I had from the start. You shouldn't have understood what was upsetting Ginny, and she wasn't supposed to say it clearly. I had hoped that readers would slowly find their way to the answer without any character really saying it. Perhaps it didn't work. I have rewritten this section from scratch twice, and it was moved around quite a bit while I was writing. I've always felt there was something not-quite-natural about it, but I haven't been able to fix it. Believe me, the current flow is still loads better than the early drafts.

From Tronishere:

_Ginny's Secret_: Well, if that's your guess, then I'm pretty confident you'll not be turned off by the story when you hear the truth. Your guess is wrong, I'm sorry to say, and while equally disturbing, it's in a different direction than I decided to go. If that's the sort of guesses you're coming up with, I'm pretty confident you'll be fine with the rest of the story.

_Harry's Double_: It's easier to get a bit of someone's hair than you'd think. Of course, it's creepy to spend much time imagining how easy it would be to get a bit of their hair. And though the knife isn't explicitly explained, there is an implied explanation.

_Why did Ginny walk into a trap? How did Bellatrix know?_

These are related, and the explanations are, again, implied. Perhaps there is too much of that. The story is quite cerebral at times. I'm sorry if that's confusing.

The easier question to answer is the second one. Bellatrix didn't know Ginny was going to be there. Ginny knew Bellatrix (or some Death Eater) would be there. She knew they would be in the area, and that if she sat there long enough (outside the patrols of the Aurors) the Death Eaters would show up. She was right, and didn't have to wait long. How did she know the Death Eaters were there? The same way she knew something bad was happening after Neville left.

The first question is closely related to her motivations after she returns. However, these aren't fundamentally different from her motivations in the second and third chapters. In my story, Ginny's main goals are the aid and protection of Harry. She stated her intentions in the letter she sent the night she was taken: "No matter what you see, please promise me you'll stay in the common room until it's over." She knew she was going to be attacked, so she took control of the situation. Her idea was that she would sneak off, be attacked quickly, and then Madam Pomfrey would fix her up. She was afraid that if she was attacked some other time, there would be a chance that Harry would risk himself to stop it.

And as a teaser for the next chapter, Jack-A-Roe commented in his latest review:

_Ginny obviously remembers something. I can't wait to find out what it is._

It's not what she remembers that's important. To be certain, she does remember some things, notably the death of Harry's doppleganger (meant to be some unfortunate who's been fed Polyjuice Potion). Yet, even after that is explained, she knows she's certain she's been made to forget something. Sometimes, the lack of evidence is just as telling as the evidence itself. There's an old joke:

_What's worse than finding a worm in your apple?_

_Finding half a worm. _

The question isn't 'What does she remember?', but 'Why is she certain she's forgotten something?'.

With that to ponder, I leave you to wait for Chapter 41. Probably sometime soon, maybe even tonight.


	41. The Memory Charm

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

NOTICE: This chapter contains intense violence

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 41 - The Memory Charm**

* * *

The next day went somewhat better than the previous one, but that was only because Harry forced himself to ignore Ginny's fear as much as she was. It made him feel odd, and Hermione didn't feel any more comfortable at lunch than she had the day before. 

When Harry returned from supper that night, he found Hedwig perched near the alarm bell Lazlo Petrov had demonstrated for them. As Harry approached, his owl held out her leg to inform him that he had a message. Ignoring the curious looks on Ron and Hermione's faces, Harry took the parchment from Hedwig and unrolled it.

_Harry,_

_I would request that you and Ginny Weasley meet with me tonight. I will wait for you in my office. Come as soon as you have time._

_Albus Dumbledore_

Harry had almost completely forgotten about the comment Dumbledore had made to Ginny the day she'd come back to Hogwarts. Harry was certain that was what he intended to meet with him and Ginny about. With any luck, she would talk to him about her mark (if she had one) and Harry would be able to get some hint as to what was upsetting her so much.

He handed the note to Ginny. After simply glancing at the parchment, she handed it back to Harry. Apparently she'd been expecting this. He shoved the parchment back into his pocket and turned around with Ginny following him.

"And what was that?" Ron complained. "Or are we not important enough to know about it?"

Harry stopped and gave Ron an annoyed glare. "Ginny and I have to talk to Dumbledore."

"Why?" Ron asked. "Is it something about the D.A.?"

"No," Harry replied slowly, making no effort to hide his frustration.

"Then what?"

"I can't tell you now, Ron. Maybe after—"

"I was Memory Charmed," interrupted Ginny.

Ron and Hermione both stared at her, dumbfounded. "Memory Charmed?" Ron asked in shock. "Why? What did they make you forget?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "If I knew that, it wouldn't be much of a Memory Charm, would it?" She pushed the portrait open. After checking to see that no one else was nearby she turned back to Ron. "We'll tell you if we learn anything you should know, okay? Don't blame Harry. He was just keeping a secret like I wanted him to."

With that, she grabbed Harry and pulled him into the corridor after her. The two of them made their way to Dumbledore's office. They tried talking, but somehow it suddenly felt awkward. Ginny seemed preoccupied, and Harry had to admit that he didn't like the idea of having Ginny remember the things she hadn't been charmed to forget. He didn't want to think that there might be more, yet at the same time, he couldn't ignore the tense feeling in his stomach that reminded him how much he needed to know what was still affecting her.

Harry tried to force himself to relax as they rode the spiral staircase up to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore was waiting for them by his desk. In front of the desk were a pair of chairs. Harry and Ginny sat down.

Dumbledore shuffled a stack of parchment into a single pile and stuffed it into one of the drawers under his desk. "Before we do anything else, I wonder if you have remembered anything more from your captivity," he asked Ginny.

Ginny shook her head and seemed to shrink a little. "No, sir. I— I didn't really try."

"Yes, of course," Dumbledore said with a warm smile. "Perfectly understandable. Do you wish to know what happened?" Dumbledore looked intently at Ginny, and waited for her answer.

"I— I suppose I do," Ginny answered reluctantly. "I'm afraid of what it might be."

"An honest answer," Dumbledore replied. "I have called Harry here for two reasons. I suspect that the reason you have been Memory Charmed is related to him quite specifically." Dumbledore smiled gently as his eyes twinkled at Ginny. "And I hoped that you might be more comfortable with him here. Will that be alright with you?"

"Er... Yes," Ginny said as she tugged at her skirt. "I just... The room is... secure, right? No one can get in ...or out? We'll all be safe here?"

Dumbledore stared shrewdly at her, then drew his wand and swirled it just once. "I promise you that there is no safer place in all of Britain than this office, and that you and Harry are both quite secure here. Shall we begin?"

Ginny nodded, and Dumbledore began calmly asking her questions about that night. Most of it Harry already knew. She had planned everything out. She had nicked Harry's essay the night before, and borrowed the book and Harry's cloak and knife the next morning. That night, when Harry was halfway through his paper, she'd gone to her dormitory, sending Colin and Dennis off to return her book. She put on the cloak in her dormitory and slipped out the door when Colin and Dennis returned.

She told Dumbledore how she had walked along the edge of the forest to avoid the Aurors. She would have been difficult to spot even if she hadn't had the cloak. She picked the large oak as the place to wait. That was where Harry had broken his arm, where they had argued with Dean, and where Neville had been attacked. If there was one place to try and attract the Death Eaters' attention, that was it.

Once there, she'd made a small fire with her wand, then bundled it into the Invisibility Cloak with Harry's original essay and her necklace and given it Hedwig. She had planned on sending Hedwig off as late as she could, so that Harry wouldn't have time to try to save her. She kept Harry's knife to cut branches to make a larger fire.

It had worked, for the most part. She said she'd been worried when the Death Eaters had just stood and watched her after she'd sent off Hedwig, and that the worry had grown to panic when she saw Harry flying out to protect her.

"I had thought that it would be like the others. I thought I would just be hexed, and that would be it," Ginny said with reddening eyes. "I didn't think it would be like that. I... I'm sorry."

Dumbledore waved his hand dismissively. "We cannot change the past, Ginny. You have nothing to apologize for. Do you remember anything after the Portkey?"

"Well, er..." Ginny paused and seemed to be concentrating quite a bit. "Yes, I— I'm not sure. I think I was stunned. And I remember waking up and two of them —men, I'm certain— they..." she glanced at Harry, then turned away. "They took my robes. They wanted my wand. They kept asking me where it was. They didn't believe I'd left it behind. They were very angry when they couldn't find it."

"They probably intended to use your wand, instead of their own," Dumbledore added.

"I don't know what happened to my robes. I don't think I saw them again, but I don't remember them taking them off the floor."

"The first Memory Charm," Dumbledore said with grim certainty. "I want you to close your eyes and try to remember as much about that moment as you can."

Ginny seemed suddenly uncomfortable. She shifted nervously in her seat, tugging absentmindedly at her skirt. "I... I'm going to remember what happened to me?"

"If you try," Dumbledore said reassuringly. "You may be able to remember more with a little help." Ginny nodded stiffly. She seemed tense and nervous. Dumbledore drew out his wand, and talked softly to Ginny.

"Close your eyes. Tell me what happened when you first arrived."

Ginny's eyes closed and she tried to describe as much as she could: the cold dampness of the stone floor, the revulsion she felt as the Death Eaters rifled through her robes, the tight feeling in her throat as she tried to control her fear. As she spoke, Dumbledore began swirling his wand toward her. A fine golden mist collected on his wand and slowly crept toward Ginny, where it swirled and danced around her head.

"There was... a third Death Eater," Ginny said slowly, seemingly surprised by her own words. "He took the robes. They did want to use my wand. He said that... my wand was supposed to be some— some sign. They had to change their plans, but I... I don't know when he left... He must have but..."

Dumbledore stopped and the golden mist slowly melted away. Ginny opened her eyes and looked disappointed. "I'm sorry, sir, I just can't remember any more than that."

"You've done quite well," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "There is more we can try." Dumbledore explained what he had planned. The idea was simple. Ginny would be able to reclaim some of her memories with help from the spell Dumbledore had used so long as she had something specific to remember. The closer the memories were to the Memory Charm, the harder it would be. If Harry could describe what he'd seen in his visions, Ginny might be able to remember other things that happened around the same time.

A moment later, Ginny once again closed her eyes, and once the golden mist was spinning around her head again, Harry began explaining the vision he'd had with the Boggart. Ginny was concentrating very hard, and small beads of sweat were appearing across the bridge of her nose and cheekbones.

She did remember a number of things, but none gave them any more information about why she'd been taken, or what they had done with her for well over a week. She remembered being fed, the stabbing pains in her throat from drinking the poisoned water, and waking up with bruises from long nights sleeping on the stone floor. She had even punched one of the Death Eaters, who'd received the Cruciatus Curse for tossing her against the wall.

But it wasn't what they were looking for. There were no memories of being marked and no physical or magical attacks on her, except for that lone incident which resulted in the punishment of the Death Eater who had done it.

Dumbledore prompted Harry for more visions until he couldn't remember any more. Unfortunately, there were quite a few that Harry remembered, which Ginny had absolutely no recollection of. It seemed there were actually quite a large number of Memory Charms, but they were subtle and well cast. Without the smallest remnant of a memory, there was little Dumbledore's magic could do. Ginny looked very tired when she finally opened her eyes.

"I'm afraid we don't have anything more to work with, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said in a disappointed tone. "And though many believe there is no end to my knowledge, I admit that I cannot think of any other way to help you. They were too thorough, and you have very few memories for me to work with. I regret that I do not know any other charms which can bring back memories taken forcibly."

An idea jumped into Harry's mind. Or had it been planted there? Could it be a coincidence?

"I do," he said before he had even decided whether it was something he should have shared. Both Dumbledore and Ginny turned to stare at him.

"You do _what_, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"I know a charm to bring back memories," he said slowly. "I've seen it performed. I watched Bellatrix use it on Neville."

"Harry, to accomplish such a thing would require powerful magic. It would take some practice—"

"He hasn't needed practice for months," Ginny interrupted. "He's been getting all the new charms and spells right on the first try. Or good enough." She sat back in her chair and stared at the floor, obviously trying to make some decision.

"I would not recommend that you try this, Harry," the Headmaster said. He looked quite serious. "However, this is Ginny's decision."

"Did it hurt him?" Ginny asked, still staring at the floor.

"Well, yes, but he was reliving his parents torture, wasn't he?" Harry replied. "And I don't know how good I'll be at it. You may not remember anything at all. I might be rubbish and mess it up."

"You won't. I trust you," Ginny whispered. She looked up at Dumbledore, then over to Harry.

"Do it."

Harry wasn't used to seeing Dumbledore look worried. He seemed to be looking about, as if he were searching his odd collection of small silver gadgets for something that might help. Finally, he looked back at Harry and gave him a reluctant nod.

Ginny was looking pale. She looked like she was trying to find a comfortable position to sit in, but failing utterly. Finally she pushed herself back into the chair, with her hands tucked under her legs.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as he pulled out his wand, and walked in front of her.

"I— I'll be alright," she stammered. "Just do it... And promise you'll stay here with me when it's over."

"I will."

Harry raised his wand and tried to remember what it had looked like when Bellatrix had used it on Neville. It was a smooth swish with a sharp jab. The words echoed in his head. He took a deep breath and aimed his wand. Where did Bellatrix hit Neville? He wanted to make her remember, so should he aim at her head?

He aimed his wand right at Ginny's forehead. Her eyes stared back at him. He could see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes. What if it did hurt? Better to fail than hurt her, he thought. He lowered his wand to point at her upper chest.

His throat was dry and it was difficult to swallow. She'd volunteered to try this, he told himself. And he needed to know what Voldemort had done to her. As he concentrated, he remembered how Dumbledore had spoken to her, and he felt the anger building in him slowly. Perhaps that was for the best. It was probably Dark Magic, he thought, maybe it would only work if he was angry.

Harry gave Ginny a nod to tell her that he was ready. She closed her eyes and sat perfectly still. Harry began the smooth motion he'd seen Bellatrix make. He tried to remember the pair of Death Eaters entering the room in the cellar. As he jabbed his wand, he heard himself utter the spell.

"_Sataru Mudutu!_"

The same crackling ray of light he'd seen before raced from his wand to Ginny's chest. For the briefest moment Harry thought that the spell might not do anything, as Ginny remained completely still. Seconds later, however, her whole body seemed to tense up. Harry tried to concentrate on not breaking the spell as she arched her back and clutched at the arms of the chair.

The crackling light of the spell seemed to take on a life of its own as it leapt up her neck and settled on her temple. Ginny let out a gasping whimper as the light danced around her head. Her legs kicked and her arms flailed as she tried to gain control of her body. She seemed to be trying to say something. With a wrench, he pulled his wand away, breaking the spell.

Ginny flopped back, breathing in long rasping gasps. Her body went slack and she slid off her chair, falling to the floor limply. As she caught her breath, she started talking between gasps.

"A pair of Death Eaters... They said I'd stay until you came for me..." She took in deep scratchy breaths as she lay in a tumbled heap in front of her chair. "...said that Voldemort was going to wait... but they didn't do anything... I— They never did anything..."

She kept talking but Harry couldn't hear her. The world around him had frozen. His eyes were staring at a single point in front of him. His stomach clenched painfully, and he would have been violently ill if he'd had any control over his body.

When Ginny had tumbled to the floor, her skirt had slid up her legs. As she lay gasping for breath with memories spilling from her mouth, Harry's eyes had caught something that filled him with a rage he didn't know he could have ever experienced. About halfway up the inside of her thigh, he saw something that looked like a nasty burn which which was still healing. It was red and irritated, and appeared as a single jagged line shaped like a lightning bolt.

Harry couldn't hear anything anymore. His ears and mind were overwhelmed by the deafening sound of a rushing wind mixing with the screams of everyone who'd ever been in his nightmares, Voldemort's laughter and the slow, painful pounding of his own heart. Ginny was still talking and her eyes were filled with tears. He had to focus. He had to know.

"When did they mark you?" He said slowly.

Ginny gasped and made a weak attempt to push down her skirt and sit up. Instead her arm gave out, dropping her to the floor again. She looked back at Harry, with tears running down her cheeks.

"I don't know..." she sobbed. "It's all the same. Hours and hours of nothing, then one of them standing over me and... it burned. I thought my leg was on fire. But..."

"What happened before that?" Harry asked flatly, barely to restraining the storm raging inside him. "What did he do to you?"

"I... I don't know," Ginny said in a defeated voice. "I don't know if I was even awake. There's nothing... I just remember someone standing over me..." She gave Harry a resigned look. "I don't remember." With some effort, she forced herself up into a kneeling position and closed her eyes again. After a brief moment, she took a deep breath and nodded weakly.

Harry knew he had to try again. He had to know what Voldemort had done. He needed to know for certain. His mind had already considered a dozen things that might have happened, each more vile and horrible than the last. It was too much for him to take. He felt his insides boiling with anger and loathing. Knowing had to be better than this. This was agony. Nothing could be worse than this.

Harry raised his wand again. As his wand looped through the air, he could hear Dumbledore calling for him to stop, but that part of the world didn't exist anymore. There was only him and Ginny, and he needed Ginny to remember what had happened.

"_Sataru Mudutu!_"

The string of crackling light connected with Ginny again, and after a brief second of silence, she let out a short scream as she fell to the floor again in convulsions. Her back arched against the pain and her legs jerked uselessly. It seemed to be stronger than the last time.

Harry tried to concentrate on the image of the mark on Ginny's leg. It seemed to work. Ginny seemed to be thrashing less, and was slowly curling into a ball. Her mouth was working silently, as if she was trying to say something. Harry broke the spell. It was much easier this time.

Ginny was slower to respond, however. She wasn't taking the deep, gasping breaths she had been last time, but she wasn't talking either.

"What is it? What did he do?"

Ginny didn't respond. She just laid on the floor, her mouth opening and closing silently. Harry saw her trying to look at him, but every time she did, her eyes would roll back into her head, and she'd collapse onto the floor.

"What do you remember?"

Ginny took a pair of deep, rasping breaths, coughed, then took another deep breath.

"Nothing..." she said weakly. "There's nothing... must have fallen asleep... They—they just appeared... Just happened..."

Harry raised his wand again. He was getting better each time. They had done something to her. She could almost remember it. She knew she wasn't remembering it. He wouldn't let Voldemort have this secret. That must have been his plan all along. He would torture Harry with it. He had to fight back.

He aimed his wand at Ginny.

"Harry, NO!" Dumbledore shouted. He'd walked up behind Harry, and was reaching for the hand Harry was holding his wand in. But as the Headmaster's hand wrapped around his forearm, Harry felt a bizarre electric sensation passing through him. The old wizard's hand jerked away, and he stumbled and fell to the floor some distance away.

Harry turned back toward Ginny and began the steady swishing movement for the third time. Ginny saw him and reached out for him, as if she were asking to hold his hand. Or perhaps she was trying to tell him to wait. It didn't matter. She would remember everything after this try.

"_Sataru Mudutu!_"

The response was instantaneous this time. Ginny immediately curled herself into a ball on the floor as the crackling light flickered across her head and shoulders. Ginny's arms struggled to push her into a kneeling position, but her legs weren't cooperating, and she kept collapsing onto the floor. With one last effort she pushed herself off the ground. She let out a loud, pained scream as she fell to the ground again.

Harry broke the spell a third time. Ginny rolled onto her stomach, and pushed herself up to rest her elbows on the floor, making her flaming hair hang in a tangled curtain around her face. She let out a series of sharp coughs, followed by a number of gasping sobs.

"What do you remember, Ginny," he asked her again, but she didn't answer and simply held her self still. Harry's jaw tightened. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I swear, it's almost over." Harry raised his wand a fourth time.

She heard him and immediately let out a rasping shout as she flipped herself onto her side again. She put her hands out as if they might have stopped the spell.

"NO," she gasped. "Please, stop! No more... There's nothing... I-I can't—" Her voice was cut off by more coughing.

Harry's heart stopped when he looked at her. There was a pool of blood on the floor beneath her head and a steady trickle of crimson was making its way from her mouth and nose down her chin and neck. Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with fear.

She was terrified. She was terrified of him. In his mind, Harry heard her screams mixed with the screams of his mother begging for his life. Ginny collapsed again with another series of coughs, still begging for him to stop.

What had he done? She'd been telling him the truth. There was nothing more. Voldemort hadn't hurt her. He had. Harry's wand clattered to the floor as he rushed forward to Ginny.

Ginny looked up at him. There was no more fear in her eyes. They were filled with agony now. She didn't try to speak. Her eyes were bloodshot, with larger spots of red everywhere, and they seemed more sunken than they should be. Her face was deathly pale, making the blood on her lips seem even more grotesque.

"Quickly, Harry, You must fetch Poppy," Dumbledore ordered. "Tell her to come here immediately." He knelt beside Ginny and held his wand over her stomach. "I'll do what I can until then."

"I'm sorry," Harry gasped. "I—I didn't mean... I wasn't thinking... so angry..."

"I know, Harry," Dumbledore replied sharply. "We both know, but she needs your help again. Run, now!"

Harry ran as fast as he could. He didn't remember how many people he passed or who they might have been. They couldn't help him. Only Madam Pomfrey could.

Harry burst into the Hospital Wing and ran along the rows of beds looking for any sign that might tell him where Pomfrey was. He stopped suddenly when he noticed a flash of light outside. Someone had sent up green sparks, and they'd done it very close to the castle.

"Potter!" he heard Madam Pomfrey shout behind him. "What— What is is? You're not injured?"

"No, it's Ginny," Harry said quickly. "She's in Dumbledore's office. He said she needs you immediately."

"Oh my," Pomfrey said as she dashed into another room and came running out a moment later carrying a large bag which sounded like it was packed with every potion in her cabinets. "Come on," she beckoned. "He's opened the Floo for us!"

Harry ran after her as she darted into another room —her office it seemed— where a bright green fire was burning in the fireplace. Without any other word, Madam Pomfrey had stepped into the fire.

"The Headmaster's Office!"

There was a rush of fire and she was gone. Harry took a breath and jumped in after her. He stumbled out of the fireplace on the other end and tripped over the large bag Pomfrey had taken with her.

"Please be careful!" she shouted from where she was kneeling. "I may need quite a few of those. Please bring it here."

Harry picked the large bag up and slung it over his shoulder. He walked slowly to where Ginny was still lying. She was covered in a thick woolen blanket, but her arms were wrapped around her stomach and she was shaking. She still had dark red circles around her bloodshot eyes, and her teeth were pink with blood.

"She's much like the Longbottom boy was," Pomfrey said as she rummaged through the bag Harry had brought to her. "Though there was something else wrong with him. I don't believe Miss Weasley will need to go to St. Mungo's." She turned to look at Dumbledore. "She was attacked by the same wizard who attacked Longbottom?"

"It was the same spell," Dumbledore said with a quick glance at Harry. "Though Miss Weasley may have endured it longer."

Madam Pomfrey made Ginny drink a small goblet of a smoking white potion which made her eyelids flutter. After a few more spells and yet another wave of her wand to clean up a line of blood flowing down from the corner of Ginny's mouth, she conjured a large padded stretcher and Harry helped move Ginny onto it.

"I wonder if you might do me a favor, Harry," Dumbledore asked lightly as Ginny floated toward the fire. "Down those stairs are a number of Aurors. They are no doubt quite interested in what is going on here. You can tell them as much as you're comfortable telling them. If they have more questions, they can speak with me in the Hospital Wing."

When Harry got to the bottom of the stairs, he saw them, just as Dumbledore had said. They seemed hardly surprised to see Harry walking out of Dumbledore's office, and immediately started firing questions at him. After a quick explanation, Harry understood what was going on, but it didn't make him feel any better. The sparks he'd seen were signals to the Aurors that something had happened inside the castle. A number of dark detectors they had placed around important parts of the castle had gone off simultaneously.

"Either there are a number of Death Eaters here, or one very strong one," one of the older Aurors said. "It takes a bit more than your average Imperius Curse to set off that many detectors."

What _had_ Harry done? He didn't tell the Aurors much more. He needed time. He needed to think. He told them that Dumbledore had gone to the Hospital Wing. They asked no more questions and rushed off.

Harry paced around for a short period of time. He couldn't go back to the common room. What was he supposed to say about Ginny? Harry felt his stomach clench. They would know when Ginny didn't return tonight. He'd have to go back sometime. He'd have to say something, but what? He couldn't really just walk up to Ron and say, _Sorry Ron, I used some seriously dark magic on your sister, but cheer up, mate, I'm sure the bleeding will stop soon_, could he?

Harry needed someplace to think. Before he was even sure where he was going, he found himself walking quickly and quietly down the hallway to a dusty abandoned office. He walked in and sat down where Ginny had been sitting the night she'd introduced him to his god-daughter.

He gave a bitter laugh at the thought. Dumbledore had been right. He wouldn't be able to protect her. He couldn't protect Neville or Dean or Justin. And he'd failed so miserably at protecting Ginny that he couldn't imagine a failure more complete. 'There's no safer place in all of Britain,' Dumbledore had said. It was a lie. No place was safe so long as he was there. He could never protect Claire because he himself was the most dangerous thing around her.

Harry shook his head, and tried to remove those thoughts from his head. He'd have to think about them, but not now. There were other, much more painful things to think about right now. How would he explain what happened to Ron and Hermione?

How would he explain it to Ginny?

Again, Harry had to wrench his mind back onto the immediate problem. Talking to Ginny was a terror he might not have to face for a few days. He sat silently in the room, staring out the window and watching the Aurors return to their normal patrols, while he struggled through the impending conversation again and again.

Each time he tried to come up with some way of explaining it, he ended up sounding like some madman trying to justify some atrocity he'd committed. It was appropriate, Harry thought. Wasn't that just what he was trying to do? He knew waiting wouldn't change anything, but perhaps if he put it off long enough, he wouldn't have to endure hours with Ron and Hermione before claiming that he needed to sleep.

And so Harry sat and looked out into the inky sky. There were no stars. They had been blotted out by dark rolling clouds that kept the moon to little more than a sickly glow in the night sky. Voldemort would have been pleased to see what Harry had done and Harry dreaded the moment he knew would be coming, the moment he'd feel a loathsome lightness in his stomach as Voldemort learned what had happened.

That thought itself only made him more angry, and he had to control his emotions. He had to let them go. He couldn't let Voldemort know something had happened. He couldn't let Voldemort pull him into another vision. Not tonight. Not now.

So Harry forced himself to relax. His eyes closed and he focused on the shapeless clouds drifting across the moon. The world melted away into nothingness. There was no one else here. Just Harry.

"Hullo there?"

Harry's body jerked back into awareness as he fell to the dusty floor. As the cloud around him settled he saw Claire standing in the doorway, looking pale and quite a bit more startled than he was. He felt an all too familiar chill as he looked at her face, and realized what he'd done.

His wand was out, and pointed directly at Claire's chest.

His hand jerked back as if his wand were a red hot poker, letting it fall back to the floor with a clatter.

"I'm sorry—" Claire started to say weakly. "I... I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't sleeping," Harry said dismissively as he gingerly picked up his wand and stuffed it into one of his robe pockets.

"Right," Claire said skeptically. "You were just laying silently with your eyes closed."

"I was trying to—" But Harry stopped short. It would be better if he didn't tell Claire that he could talk with Voldemort in his mind.

"I was just trying to relax. I hadn't fallen asleep. You just startled me."

"Well, I could think of a couple better places to relax. I've never been in the Gryffindor common room, but we have some chairs and couches that really are quite comfy."

"Yeah, well, I was trying to avoid my common room," Harry mumbled.

"Oh," Claire said with an understanding look. "I suppose after what happened earlier that you wouldn't—"

"What did you hear?" Harry interrupted, looking a little more alarmed than he would have wanted to. Claire gave him a bewildered stare as she sat down in the window seat.

"Why are you asking me? No one tells me anything." Harry tried to ignore the bitterness he heard in her voice.

"Could you just tell me what you heard, and who told you."

"Fine," Claire said in a defeated tone, though she turned and stretched her legs across the seat, leaving no room for Harry to sit. "I was walking back to my common room and an Auror stopped me at the door. He said that all the students were confined to their common rooms. All he'd say was that there was an intruder, and that they couldn't find you."

"Why were you out of your common room alone?"

"You're not a prefect, Harry," she said with a mocking smile. When Harry didn't smile back, she frowned and shrugged. "Just more of the same. Flitwick and McGonagall wanted to talk with me. They're 'worried about me'. I'm supposed to 'be careful' and not do anything 'foolish'." She paused to smile at Harry. "Actually, it was: 'don't do anything foolish like Potter would' —figured you'd enjoy that part. But they don't want me telling any of my friends about it. I guess they don't want everyone to think You-Know-Who is going to attack me at any moment." Claire looked away from Harry. "Like he'll ever do that. Looks like it won't matter that my godfather is completely useless."

"But you haven't heard anything else?" Harry asked. Claire looked annoyed with his question but shrugged and shook her head.

"Not really, no. Someone said they heard Pomfrey arguing with a student in the Hospital Wing, but people attacked by Death Eaters don't usually argue all that much. The Aurors said we could leave the common room, but ours gave me a nasty look when I left. Stupid git."

Harry paced back and forth in front of Claire, who seemed puzzled by Harry's behavior.

"Did I say something interesting? Didn't you already know all that?"

"No," Harry said honestly as he paused. "No, I came here just after the... er... well, whatever it was, I just came here. To think."

"But you don't want to think anymore?"

"No, I don't think so. I think I need to talk to Ron and Hermione."

"Right," Claire said as she turned to look out the window. "Go on and talk to them, then. I'm sure they're eager to hear news, too."

If Ginny was already arguing with Pomfrey, she might be out earlier than he thought. The prospect of facing Ron and Hermione seemed less daunting than facing Ginny, and he preferred the idea of not doing them at the same time. With a sigh, he turned and walked toward the door.

"I've got to go."

"I figured you would. Goodbye, Potter."

Harry walked quickly down the halls, hoping to go as fast as he could, while still avoiding anyone else. What he really needed was his own phoenix. It would be so much simpler to just grab its tail and simply appear in the common room in a puff of smoke a flame.

Despite his lack of a phoenix, Harry made it back to the Fat Lady without incident. As he tried to relax and regain his composure, the Fat Lady woke up and took note of him.

"Ahh! Harry Potter! And where have you been?" she said much louder than Harry wanted. "Do you know how many Aurors I had waking me up to ask if I'd seen you? As if it were my job to keep track of _you_. And now you just waltz on up—"

"Wormwood"

"Oh, that's nice," the Fat Lady said as her frame swung open. "See if I help you the next time Argus comes looking for you..."

* * *

Author's Notes: 

So there it is. This is perhaps the biggest reason for the 'M' (or 'R') rating for the story. It's almost torture, but not really. I really don't know how disturbing people are going to find it, so I'm sorry if you feel that it was too much, or if you feel that I was worrying over nothing.

Either way, I'm curious to know what everyone thought.

And, well... hopefully you aren't under the impression that things are going to finally get better, now. The next chapter is equally rough, but for completely different reasons. If you've gotten this far, I'd hope that you wouldn't stop suddenly. It may be discouraging, and you might find it upsetting, but it's supposed to be that way. Again, you'll just have to trust me.


	42. Confrontation

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 42 - Confrontation**

* * *

Harry walked into the common room cautiously. As he surveyed the room, he almost lost his nerve. There were many more people sitting in the couches and chairs than he'd expected. For a moment, he began to hope that Ron and Hermione weren't there. He looked around the room, and couldn't see them. Had they left? What if they'd both been told about Ginny? Maybe they were the ones arguing in the Hospital Wing? 

"Harry!" someone shouted from a corner table, "Harry, thank goodness you're alright!"

It was Hermione and she was racing toward him. Ron was standing at the table they'd been sharing.

"The Aurors came and said we weren't to leave the common room, and that they couldn't find you. But when they came to say it was safe again, you still weren't here. We were so worried."

Harry walked with Hermione over to the table Ron was standing at. He sat down heavily in the corner chair and just stared at the rest of the room.

"Well?" Hermione asked insistently. "What happened? We heard a pair of Aurors saying something about some dark magic detectors. Was there an intruder?"

"No."

Ron and Hermione seemed surprised by his answer. "No?" Hermione said quizzically, her eyes searching Harry's face for more information. "Just 'No'? What happened, Harry?"

Harry's eyes scanned the room. Many of the other Gryffindors were sitting quietly, reading books or scratching away at Potions essays or messages for their parents. No one was talking or playing Exploding Snap.

They were all trying to listen.

"What's the matter, Harry?" Ron asked as he looked around the room, searching for whatever it was his friend was seeing.

"Everyone is listening, Ron."

"So? The Aurors didn't tell us anything. Everyone wants to know what happened."

"There was no intruder. It was all just a mistake."

"A mistake?" Hermione said. "What kind of mistake?"

"I don't want to talk about it here."

Ron shrugged. "Well, where is Ginny? Or is she still with Dumbledore?"

"I... Yeah, I think she's still with him." Harry felt a sharp pang of guilt saying that. It wasn't really a lie, and he'd correct it as soon as everyone stopped trying to hear every word he had to say.

"What's going on, Harry?" Hermione whispered. "You're acting really strange."

"Hold on," Ron said as he waved his arm in the air. "Here's Ginny now." Harry didn't turn to look. It truly had been Ginny arguing with Pomfrey. He knew she was walking toward them, but he couldn't force himself to look. He felt his stomach tighten into a ball, and felt as if he was going to be sick.

"Took Dumbledore long enough, didn't it?" Ron said quietly as Ginny slowly wound her way through the students. "I suppose that means something worked. He wouldn't have kept her this long for nothing. Maybe she'll be a bit more— Bloody Hell!"

Harry turned to see what Ron was looking at. As his eyes met Ginny's, he felt his throat tighten as if someone were choking him. Her hair was laying pleasantly straight again, and her clothes were neat and clean. However, her freshly dressed appearance made the red patches around her bloodshot eyes, her abnormally red lips, and the streaks of maroon in her cheeks look even more noticeable. Someone just might choke him when they find out why she looked like that,

"Ginny! Are you alright? You need to go to the Hospital Wing!" Hermione said. She was already standing and examining Ginny's face.

"What happened, Ginny?" Ron asked. "Did you get in a fight with a Slytherin or something?"

Ginny said nothing. She was just staring at Harry. It wasn't an accusing, angry, or fearful stare, any of which Harry had expected. She seemed... sad, and tired. It didn't make him feel any better. Something was wrong. Something more than he knew. Harry rubbed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, he'd wake from this nightmare. It was all going wrong. What had he done?

Ginny gave Harry a subtly questioning look. Harry knew what she meant to ask.

"I was just about to tell them—" he said in a low voice.

"Tell us what?" Ron said loudly. "Did you know about this?"

"Not here, Ron," Harry said through his teeth. Ginny nodded toward the stairs to the boy's dormitories. Harry understood. "Right. Come on, then. Up to our dormitory."

Ginny led the way, with Harry following her. Behind them Hermione led Ron by the arm, whispering quickly to him.

When they got to the sixth year dormitory, Ginny immediately walked to Harry's bed and sat down, leaning against one of the posts. She was apparently more exhausted than she'd wanted to appear in the common room. Harry sat by the window. He liked the idea that if things got too bad, he might be able to summon his broom and escape.

Ron closed the door behind Hermione. She immediately pointed her wand at the door and muttered, "_Arceocerno,_" then walked over to where Ginny was sitting. Ginny sat passively and allowed Hermione to examine her.

"You shouldn't be here, Ginny. You really should go to the Hospital Wing."

"I just left the Hospital Wing," Ginny said. Harry felt another pang of guilt after hearing her voice. It had the dry, rasping sound of someone who'd been yelling too much. Ron stood against Harry's wardrobe.

"Harry said you were with Dumbledore."

"I was with Dumbledore."

"And he didn't let Pomfrey fix you up?"

"Madam Pomfrey... " Ginny's voice trailed off as she glanced at Harry. "It's nothing serious. I took some potions. They just take some time to work."

"You mean you were _worse_ than this?"

"It's not that bad, Ron."

"You look like you were run over by a Hippogriff!" Ron replied. Hermione stopped looking at Ginny to glare at Ron. "Enough, Ron. We've got the point." Ron looked unfazed.

"Are you mental? Look at her! Ginny and Harry left to go talk to Dumbledore about a Memory Charm, and Ginny comes back here looking like this? If I can figure it out, I _know_ you can, Hermione."

"We don't know what happened," Hermione shot back, "but they do."

Ron walked over to Ginny and looked her in the eyes. "You went there to try and break the charm, didn't you?" Ginny didn't say anything, but her eyes blinked lazily. She wasn't going to deny it. "What did he do, beat you with a chair until you remembered something?"

"Ron—" Harry started, but Ron ignored him.

"Memory Charms aren't like Hover Charms, Ginny. You can't just wave your wand and make them go away. It would take some seriously strong magic to remove them, and even then it would probably be..." Ron's voice trailed off as he turned to look at Hermione, who was frowning at him.

"The Aurors..." he said as if he'd suddenly stumbled across the answer to some riddle. "They said detectors had gone off..." Ron turned to face Ginny again. She stared back passively.

"He used dark magic on you? What in bloody hell was he thinking? That's it isn't it, Ginny?"

Ginny swallowed hard and looked down at her knees, nodding almost imperceptibly. Ron was shaking his head in disbelief. Hermione sat down next to Ginny and put her arm around the younger girl's shoulders.

"Mum's going to kill him."

Harry's head jerked involuntarily toward his three friends. He hadn't thought of that. Not that there was much that could be done about that now.

Ginny tried to sit up. "It's not his fault, Ron. I told him to." Harry could hear the fear and sadness in her voice. She was crying.

"That's not the point, Ginny!" Ron shouted back. "You could have been seriously hurt."

"He knew what he was doing, Ron," Hermione said softly.

"Just because he's the Headmaster doesn't mean he's always right, Hermione."

Harry saw Ginny twitch. Her head snapped over to look at Harry. Their eyes met briefly. Her eyes were still red, but now there were a pair of wet trails of tears rolling down the sides of her face. Her lips moved slowly, silently mouthing a single word: _Sorry_.

Ron was describing just how angry Molly would be with Dumbledore, but Hermione had noticed the exchanged look. She held up a hand to catch Ron's attention. "Ron, wait. There's something more."

Ron stopped talking and looked from Hermione to Ginny. In a quiet, rough voice Ginny said, "It wasn't Dumbledore." Hermione's mouth dropped open. Ron looked confused. Harry felt his heart racing. He looked away from his friends, and watched the clouds slowly drift across the sky in front of the pale moon.

"It wasn't Dumbledore? Who else was there? Dad would have the head of any Auror who—"

"It was me, Ron," Harry said. Ron stared back at him. All of the sentiments that Harry had expected to see from Ginny were present in Ron's expression instead.

"Harry... Why... How? How could you do _that_?"

Harry couldn't imagine feeling worse. He looked over to his friends sitting on his bed. Ginny was looking away and leaning on the post more heavily than she had been before. Hermione was looking at him with what seemed to be pity. Ron looked caught between shock and rage. They'd never forgive him for this.

"Did it work?" Hermione asked quietly. Ron seemed outraged at the question, but was even more upset by the answer.

"I don't know," Ginny said quietly. "I think so, but I didn't really remember anything important. I... I don't remember them doing anything to me."

"Are you sure he did it right?" Hermione asked gently, not wanting to sound like she didn't believe in her friends.

Ginny's eyes closed and she tried to hide a grimace as she remembered the feeling of the spell. She nodded.

"How did you... you know... your face?" Ron asked, without taking his eyes from Harry. Ginny's eyes roamed across the ceiling, as she tried to think of how to explain.

"The spell... it, er... it hurt," she finished lamely.

"It _hurt_? Ginny, getting hit with a Bludger _hurts_, but I've never seen anyone leave a pitch looking as bad as you do now."

"It was just pain, Ron," Ginny told him. "I'll be fine."

"It wasn't just pain," Harry said aloud. He was as surprised as anyone to hear himself speak, but now that he'd begun, he didn't want to stop himself. He was so tired of keeping secrets. He was always keeping secrets. It was all inside him. It was too much to bear.

"When Dumbledore took her to the Hospital Wing, she was coughing blood and shaking uncontrollably. She couldn't even sit up. It must have taken every bit of her will to gather the strength to beg me to stop."

Ginny pulled herself up and was trying to walk toward him. She had a strange look on her face. "No, Harry, don't—"

"That's exactly what you said that earlier," Harry said as he turned to look away from her. "Maybe you don't remember through the blinding pain."

"Stop it, Harry. You're only making it worse..." Ginny said as she leaned against another bedpost.

"Have you lost your mind, Harry?" Ron asked as he stood next to Ginny. "What were you thinking? Dark magic, Harry? Look what you've done!"

"That's enough, Ronald!" Ginny shouted hoarsely. "We knew what we were doing. We thought we did, at least. Harry was trying to help."

"Trying to help!" Ron shouted incredulously. "Well, I'll be sure to ask someone else if I ever need any!"

"Ron—"

Hermione was standing now as well. She'd placed herself between Ron and Harry.

"This is Harry we're talking about, Ron. I'm sure he had some reason for using such desperate measures." She turned to Harry expectantly.

He did have a reason. A very troubling reason. The image seemed to be burned into the inside of his skull, a mirror image of the one he bore on his forehead. He felt his throat tightening, and a twinge of the anger that had helped him use the spell so effectively.

Ginny was shaking her head ever so slightly, and looking at him with wide, bloodshot eyes, pleading silently that he not say anything more. Was she embarrassed? Ashamed? She's scared, a faint voice in his head told him. She's just as frightened about it as you are.

"There was nothing else to try," he heard himself say in a flat, emotionless voice. "I just wanted to help. I didn't think it would be that bad."

Ginny's eyes closed briefly, and a small smile of relief spread across her face. "I asked him to, Ron. I thought it would be worth it," she said in a soft voice, sounding a little better than she had a moment earlier.

Ron didn't seem to like their answer. He stewed and paced back and forth a bit, glancing back at Harry occasionally. Finally he stopped. "Mum's going to be furious when she hears of this."

"Probably," Ginny replied calmly, "but she won't be hearing it from you."

Ron folded his arms over his chest. "And why not? I am a prefect, you know."

Ginny smiled back weakly. "So am I, but I wasn't out past curfew last week snogging Hermione."

Hermione let out a strangled gasp of betrayal as she turned to look at Ginny. Ron's face colored, but his jaw was set.

"I hardly think that Hermione and I sneaking out to _talk_ is on the same level as Harry using dark magic!"

Ginny shrugged. "Maybe. You write your letter, and I'll write mine." Ron huffed and turned away. "Right then. If you two don't mind, I'd like to talk to Harry alone."

"That's rich," Ron snorted, "You think I'm going to leave you alone in the room with him, after this?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed, looking quite a bit more menacing due to her appearance. "What are you more afraid of, Ronald? That he'll be overcome with evil and attack me again, or that we might be snogging on your bed?"

"That's it!" Ron said jabbing a finger toward his sister. "I'll find McGonagall, and let her—"

Ron's mouth kept moving, but nothing came out. Hermione was standing nearby, her wand out and pointed at him. He turned to glare nastily at her, but finally gave up and stomped out of the room. Hermione followed him silently and closed the door behind her.

Harry resumed watching the clouds drift across the sky outside. Ginny sat down on his bed again, but said nothing. He was content to sit here and say nothing, and if she wanted to stay silent, he wasn't going to stop her. After a while, Harry began to think that she just might not say anything. He turned to look at her.

She was staring at him, with streams of tears running down her face. The arm which held her to the bedpost was trembling, and the other was tugging nervously at her robe pocket.

"Harry..." she said with a shaky voice. "Harry, we can't be together. Not now." She forced herself to keep looking at him.

Harry felt an icy panic slice through him. He'd imagined all sorts of horrible things his friends might have said to him, but never that. He hadn't imagined that she'd leave him. Without her, he'd never have made it this far. He couldn't breathe. He could feel himself struggling for air, but it seemed like he was watching someone else. He struggled to get control of himself again.

"Ginny... I'm sorry..." he stammered, "I didn't mean..." The panic reached his brain, and he began talking faster, desperately trying to say as much as he could before she ran away.

"I didn't think it would be that bad. I couldn't tell with Neville, he had broken his leg, and his memories— I didn't think it would hurt you that much, and then I saw your mark, and— and I needed to know. Nothing could be more horrible than the things that I was imagining. Knowing _had_ to be better. I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't realize— I should have, I know. Dumbledore tried to stop me, but— I'm so sorry. You can't believe that I'd ever do that to you again..."

Harry stopped and took a couple deep breaths. Ginny was still crying, but she had a small smile, and her eyes were full of compassion. Had his rambling worked?

"Oh, Harry," Ginny said with a small sob, "I know all of that. You aren't like Tom. You could never mean to hurt anyone."

"So... You— You're staying with me?"

"I can't, Harry."

"Why not?" Harry said. He wasn't angry. He was just a frightened boy again, losing the last friend he thought he had. "He's taking everyone from me. I can't lose you, too. You said you would help me. You were the one who convinced me that it would be okay."

"I— I had only thought that Voldemort would attack me because I was your friend ... or girlfriend, or that he'd trick you into protecting me. I hadn't imagined..." Ginny gave Harry a sad look. "Don't you see what Tom's done? He wasn't trying to attack me—"

"He wasn't? Are you mental?"

"He was attacking you, Harry," Ginny replied. "He won't attack you directly. Maybe he can't. But he can hurt you. Can't you see? He's using me to hurt you. I... I never imagined that. If we're together, he'll just keep using me until..." Ginny looked away and tried to control her sobbing.

"Until when?" Harry asked, though he didn't think he wanted to hear the answer.

"Until one of us is dead."

"So I'm just supposed to stop feeling this way? I'll just pretend you're my best mate's sister, and I'll just be one of the sixth-years you know?"

"I— I don't know, Harry," Ginny said between sniffles. "It's too dangerous now. Maybe... later, after he's been defeated..."

"_If_ he's been defeated," Harry said in a low voice.

"I'm sorry, Harry. You understand, don't you? It's not that I don't..."

Ginny didn't say anything more. She stood up and hobbled to the door, still crying. She said a shy goodnight to him, and told him she'd see him the next day. Harry barely heard her. His mind was already miles away. He didn't know where or how, but he was searching for someone. Someone who'd taken too much from him.

"Are you okay, Harry?" she said from the doorway. Her voice was muffled, as if a strong wind were rushing through the room.

"I need to be alone," he said. His own voice echoed loudly in his head. "Tell Ron I'm sorry. I'll get him when I'm done."

"Done? What are—"

"Nothing you should worry about," Harry snapped.

With a thud, the door closed behind her. Harry closed his eyes, and focused on the twinge of happiness he felt in the back of his mind. Happiness that was not his. He focused all his will on that tiny feeling, and suddenly he felt the world around him dissolve."

A figure was sitting at a large table, with large, bony hands turning a charred page in a half burned tome. Slowly the face turned to look at Harry. As the red eyes focused on his, an evil smile spread across his face.

"Had a bad day, Potter?"

Harry stared into the eyes of the creature Tom Riddle had become, and for the first time, he felt no fear. If there was any fear left, it was masked by anger and disgust.

"You wretched coward," Harry spat. "Are you too afraid to come after me?"

Voldemort stood up slowly and circled around Harry. "Very good, Potter. You're getting more and more control every day."

Some fear finally pushed through Harry's mind. Voldemort could see him. How much more real could this get? Would Voldemort be able to attack him?

"Did you do it?" Voldemort asked. Harry just stared back at him. He wondered if it would surprise him more if Voldemort knew what had happened with Ginny or if he did not. When Harry didn't respond, Voldemort paused to look into Harry's eyes. A menacing smile spread across his gaunt face.

"You did." A harsh laugh broke from his lips. "You did! Foolish boy!" His laughter echoed from the walls.

"I could feel your anger. Your fear. Your rage. I knew you must have found it. I admit, I didn't expect it so soon. I don't suppose you'll tell me how you found it?" Another series of laughs rang off the walls. "No? Of course not. It doesn't matter. You found it, and you went looking for the reason."

Harry remained silent. He suddenly realized he hadn't thought about what he'd do once he'd actually found Voldemort. It seemed like a much worse idea than it had a moment ago.

"Bellatrix didn't think you'd use it without some... convincing. She's always underestimating you." Voldemort circled around Harry. "It is an ancient spell. It was created long ago by wizards in ancient Babylon. It was used to force memories into another wizards mind. They used it to pass on their most secret traditions. Only later was it discovered that it was quite effective at breaking Memory Charms."

"Of course, the wizards of Babylon used it as a rite of passage among their greatest warlocks, and they didn't mind the excruciating pain it caused." Voldemort let out a hissing laugh. "And did you find what you were looking for?"

"Why won't you attack me?" Harry said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, but I am," Voldemort hissed back at him. "You do at least deserve to know the truth. Your pretty girlfriend was not harmed by me, or anyone else. At least, not by my design. Of course, she was frightened a bit and I'm afraid that she did see some things that upset her terribly, but I did not harm her. I knew you would do that for me."

"Why do any of it?" Harry asked angrily. "Do you think I'll give up? Do you think I'll just stop fighting you?"

"Come now, Potter. You must know that I understand you better than that. No, I don't expect you to give up. I expect you to resist. I expect you to suffer. I spent twelve long years in a state so close to death that there are no words which can describe the difference. I have spent more time on the threshold of oblivion than any wizard will ever know. Twelve years, all because some Muggle stumbled upon a way to postpone her child's fate."

"For that, you will suffer. Your friends will suffer. Everyone you care about will suffer. And it will not end. Not until I let you die."

Harry felt a stab of guilt. Sirius had died for him. His parents had died for him. Now he was losing his friends. And Ginny. He turned to Voldemort with a scowl, "You've already taken everyone I love from me. Are you afraid of me?"

"Have I taken everyone from you?" Voldemort's snakelike eyes drifted closed, then opened, the narrow slits dancing. "Perhaps I have. She's left you. I can feel it in your mind. So much for _love_," he sneered with a cruel smile. "She's tossed it aside it as one casts away a torch when the flame burns too close to one's hand. It's worth disappeared once she was threatened, and she could no longer risk the weakness."

"But not you. Your love remains, to your detriment. You cling to it as if it might hold some power to save you or change your fate. In time, you will learn the true nature of love." Voldemort turned to stare directly into Harry's eyes.

"Love is the sword you will impale yourself on. Love is the chain that will bind you and keep you from what you want."

"This has nothing to do with her!" Harry shouted with as much of a threat as he could. "You stay away from her."

Voldemort continued circling, getting closer and closer. His eyes bore into Harry.

"Love is the fog that keeps you from seeing the truth and the path to your goal. Love is the burden on your back, stealing your strength and making you stumble.

"Shut up!" Harry shouted. "You're a liar! You're nothing but some cowardly creature!"

Voldemort's icy, uncompassionate eyes stared into Harry's.

"Love will be your downfall."

"THEN I'LL FALL!" Harry shouted into Voldemort's face. "Even if they all fall with me!" Harry thought he saw Voldemort wince with something like pain, but it passed just as quickly, and in its wake, Harry felt the world shudder around him.

"I won't be like you," Harry said in a quieter voice.

"You _already are_ like me!" Voldemort laughed as he turned and resumed circling Harry. "The students fear you. Those who do not, have formed themselves into a group of loyal supporters who do whatever you say. They know what happens to those who oppose you. You take what you want, even from your friends, and you ignore emotion when it stands between you and what you want."

"No, that's not how it was," Harry muttered to himself. It hadn't, had it? He had done it to protect them all. He'd never wanted it to gain power. It was different. Or was it? Harry was having trouble concentrating.

"You're lying. You're— You're trying to trick me. Why the games? Why won't you attack me?"

"Because I don't have to, Potter. Soon your friends will turn on you, and either they will kill you, or they'll fall, one by one."

"Leave my friends alone!" shouted Harry, as the world started to spin. Voldemort was still slowly circling him, but it seemed the walls were as well. "Take me. Leave them alone! I'm the one who you have to kill!"

The room became blurry. His voice seemed to echo oddly, and Voldemort paused in his steps, a frown on his face. Harry tried to concentrate. "Stay away from them! Kill _me_!"

There were other voices in the room. They were calling his name, Harry looked for them, but as he did, the whole world seemed to lurch, and then a dizzy moment later the room seemed to explode into a million shards of glass.

He was sprawled on the floor of his dormitory. It was dark, but he could see Hermione's bushy hair and the red hair of Ron leaning over him. They seemed to be shouting something, but Harry couldn't tell just what it was.

"Harry!" Hermione was shouting in a dull voice. "Harry, what happened?"

Slowly the world fell back into focus. Hermione looked terrified, and Ron seemed to be genuinely worried about him. Harry pushed himself into a sitting position, but fell back against the wall with a groan as the room spun about him again.

"What was it, Harry?" Hermione asked. "What did you see?"

Harry tried to answer, but he was beginning to feel quite ill, and closed his eyes instead and tried to control is stomach.

Hermione jumped to her feet. "Stay with him, Ron. Something's happened. Ginny might be the only person who knows."

_Ginny._ Harry's mind latched onto the name. Ginny would know what happened. She'd be able to tell. She always knew.

She couldn't know.

"No, stop!" Harry croaked, just as Hermione reached the door. Ginny was right. She had to stay away from him. Voldemort wouldn't leave her alone. He had to make sure that she would not second guess her decision.

Hermione froze, staring at Harry. "What happened, Harry? Was it a vision?"

"No —well, yes," he said weakly. "I... I went to see him... to see Voldemort." He tried to sit up again, but failed. "Can you... Just help me to my bed?"

"You— You saw him? Was that who you were talking to? You can talk to Voldemort in your visions?"

"Not now, Ron," Hermione said sharply.

Ron helped pull Harry to his feet and Hermione helped him lead Harry back to his bed. Harry fell down limply. He didn't care that he was still wearing his robes. Or his shoes. He just needed sleep.

"You... er... said some things, Harry," Ron said slowly. "They sounded really bad. What were you talking about?"

Harry gave him a confused glance. Had he said everything out loud? What had they heard? Did it matter? It's not like he could stop any of it. He felt himself slipping off into unconsciousness.

"We'll talk about it later, Ron," Hermione said sharply.

"You heard what he said, Hermione. I'd rather know what he meant now, if it's all the same."

"Not—now—Ron" Hermione said through her teeth.

It was just as well. Harry didn't think he could have spoken very clearly. Tomorrow would be just as good. If he made it until tomorrow.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Alright. There's the second half. Still reading?


	43. The Final Lesson

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

NOTE: This chapter contains a scene with intense violence

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 43 - The Final Lesson**

* * *

"Come on, Harry!" 

A bright light tore through the curtain around Harry's bed. Blocking most of it was Ron Weasley, but enough got through to shine through his eyelids. Harry flopped over and covered his head with his pillow.

"No you don't," Ron said as he reached in and ripped the pillow from Harry's grasp. Before Harry could reach for the other pillow, Ron had tossed them both to the floor and was pulling Harry out of the bed by his ankle.

"Go away, Ron!" Harry said groggily. "I'm tired."

"You can be tired after breakfast."

"I don't want to go to breakfast."

"Well I don't want to go to History of Magic today, but I don't have much say in it."

"I'm not going, Ron!" Harry shouted as he kicked his foot free of Ron's grasp.

"If you don't, Hermione's going to be furious."

"Fine!" Harry shouted. "Let her be furious! Send her up here, if you want. Let her hex me all she wants. I don't care."

"That'd work just fine for me, but you're not the one she said she'd hex if you weren't at breakfast."

"I'm not coming, Ron. Tell Hermione I attacked you. Tell her I barricaded myself in my trunk. I don't care."

There was a pause, and Harry could hear footsteps as Ron approached Harry's bed again. "Maybe you should start," he replied. "Unless you'd rather I tell Ginny that you were begging Voldemort to kill you last night after she left?" Harry was sitting upright in a second, a smoldering gaze pointed at Ron.

"Figured that would wake you up. Hurry up, Harry. I'm hungry."

Ron waited in the common room while he finished cleaning up and dressing. When Harry was finally finished he saw Ron pacing by the portrait hole. "About time," Ron said. "Hermione had some Runes work to do. She said she'd meet us in the Great Hall."

Harry and Ron made their way to the Great Hall. Harry was worried about what it would be like when he got there, but as he walked toward Hermione and the spot she'd saved them a spot near the back of the hall, Harry realized that no one was even paying attention to him. They didn't know what had happened last night.

Hermione was drinking juice and gracefully writing on a large roll of parchment. She hadn't seen Ron and Harry approaching. Ron sat down heavily and immediately reached for some sausages.

"I told you I'd get him down here," he announced as he poured himself some milk.

"Yes Ron, very impressive," Hermione said without looking up from her scroll. "I can't believe I ever doubted your abilities." Ron just shook his head and concentrated on his food. Harry sat silently, doing nothing.

Now that he was awake, all the memories from the previous night were coming back to haunt him. How could so many horrible things happen in one night? How could everything go so wrong? Harry tried to think of where it had started. Had it been that summer? It felt like ages ago that he had been struggling with the loss of Sirius.

It had started before that. Sirius had died. He never should have gone to the Ministry. He'd been so stupid then. He thought he had to save his godfather. He thought he _could_ save his godfather. He'd been doubly wrong, but even that wasn't the beginning. Voldemort had a body because he'd wanted the Triwizard Cup. He had a body with Wormtail's help.

_Peter Pettigrew_. Harry's mind latched onto that name. He'd betrayed Harry's parents. He'd framed Sirius. He'd helped bring Voldemort back to power. And Harry had let him escape. He'd had the chance to end it, to prevent all of this. All it would have took was the death of Peter Pettigrew.

A deeper part of him knew that it never would have happened. He wasn't a murderer. He couldn't even bring himself to correctly cast the Cruciatus Curse against Bellatrix Lestrange. He'd been doomed from the start, it seemed. Why did others have to suffer for his fate? What was the point in prolonging the inevitable? Why did Ginny have to get involved? Harry searched the table for Ginny's face, expecting to find it where they normally sat, but she wasn't there. She wasn't at the table at all. Harry checked the Ravenclaw table, but she wasn't there either.

"Where's Ginny?" he asked.

Hermione looked up from her parchment. "She's in bed still," she said quietly. "She still looked a bit bad this morning. She's taking more potions, and she should be up and about by noon."

Harry scowled in annoyance. "Why'd she get to sleep in, while I get dragged from my bed by Ron?"

"Because Ron isn't allowed in the fifth-year girls' dormitory?" Hermione said flippantly.

"I'm not laughing, Hermione."

"No, you're not," she said as she slapped her quill onto the table, "You're in a foul mood, but you won't tell us why. Why should I talk to you?"

"You shouldn't," Harry said angrily as he stood up. "I'll be in the common room."

"You'll sit down and eat or I'll jinx you until you do!" Hermione ordered with a perilous stare.

Harry fixed her stare with an empty glare of his own. "Then do it. I won't stop you."

Her voice dropped to a low, threatening whisper. "If you leave before Hannah, Cho and the Slytherins see you, they'll call a D.A. Council meeting."

"They'll do what?" Harry sat back down and stared at Hermione. "They'd call a meeting just because they didn't see me at breakfast?"

"Yes," Hermione answered angrily. "If you didn't see me for almost a whole day, I'd hope you'd get a little worried, as well."

"So you've all been keeping an eye on me, have you? Waiting for me to go bad? Or just turn up dead? How long has this been going on?"

"You really are in a foul mood," Hermione said with narrowed eyes. "This has been 'going on' since the day after Halloween, when you didn't show up for breakfast. We had to find a way to organize the D.A without you around. After that, we decided that if half of us lost track of you, we should call a meeting to make sure everything was alright."

Harry just glared back at her. "So you are saying I should check in with the Council every morning? You know, just so you know if I'm dead or not?"

"No, Harry, I'm saying that if they call a D.A. Council Meeting, Ginny won't ignore it. She'll show up looking just like she does now. I don't think you want that any more than she does. She's trying to keep this a secret, and I'd think you'd at least respect her wishes."

"A secret?" Harry said with a bitter laugh. "Well, she might be able to change how she looks, but no potion or charm can really hide the fact that we aren't together, can it?"

There was a loud clatter as Ron's fork hit the floor. Hermione's mouth had dropped open.

"Oh? Did Ginny forget to mention that when you were chatting this morning?" Harry said lightly, "It's not often I know something you don't. Today's looking positively brilliant, so far." From the corner of his eye, he saw Cho and Luna walking into the Great Hall with a group of other Ravenclaws. He stood up, and glared at Hermione. "I'm sure Ron will be relieved. Now, if you don't mind, I'll just go ask Cho and Luna if I'm free to go."

Harry turned and walked away. He thought he heard Hermione call his name, but he ignored it and walked purposefully toward the Ravenclaw table.

He saw Claire sitting not far from Luna and Cho. She noticed him and the weary look on her face seemed to fade. She smiled cheerily. "Good Morning, Harry."

"Not bloody likely," Harry mumbled as he strode past her to stand between Cho and Luna, who seemed to be discussing the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.

"I'm still alive," he announced flatly. "No guarantees about tomorrow. I'm sure Hermione will keep you up to date." He turned and walked away without another word. As he left, he noticed several of the nearby Ravenclaws staring at the two girls as if they had any better idea of what had just happened.

Harry walked back to his dormitory. He normally spent his Wednesday mornings in the common room, preparing for an afternoon of Potions class. Today he didn't want to see anyone and he didn't care about Potions.

And so he spent the first part of his day in his dormitory, alone. He eventually did take out his Potions text and study over the pages they would be going over that day. Part of him didn't want to have to deal with Snape that day, and part of him was simply bored. He didn't know that there really was a purpose to going to class. Potions weren't likely to help him against Voldemort, and it seemed like a waste of time to study anything that couldn't help him immediately. Still, he didn't have anything else to do, and McGonagall would lecture him for hours if he skived off Snape's class.

When the time came for Potion's class, Harry tried to say as little as possible. Snape, however, seemed to sense his mood, and made sure to call on Harry as often as he could. Harry was relieved that his boredom had given him the time and ability to read over the days potion many times, and Snape was unable to find a reason to berate him.

Hermione was only slightly more friendly. She didn't fight with Harry, and she refused to allow him to partner with anyone else when it came time to attempt the potion for the day, but she seemed to be in a similarly bad mood. Harry wondered if she and Ron had been fighting.

They worked together in silence, speaking only to give each other instructions about how to chop the scorpion tails, and when to lower the heat on the cauldron. The result was a nearly perfect Diminishing Draught. Following the pattern of the day, Snape said nothing to them.

As they both walked back to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione finally broke her self-imposed silence.

"Are you coming to dinner?"

"Does it matter?"

"You should eat something, Harry."

"If I don't are you going to call a meeting to discuss it?"

Hermione made an annoyed sound. "Honestly, Harry. We are just doing what Dumbledore told us to do. You might lead us, but we aren't your followers. You don't control us."

Harry stopped short of the top of the stairs they were climbing. She was right. A small bit of the weight Harry felt seemed to be lifted. However, when he looked back and saw the anger on Hermione's face, he began to feel guilty. He'd had a horrible night, followed by a rotten day, and he'd taken it out on Hermione, who'd only been trying to help.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I— I've had a bad time, recently."

"I know, Harry," Hermione said. For the first time, Harry realized that she looked exhausted.

"If I nick food from the elves, will people worry about me?"

"Honestly?" Hermione asked, "Probably. You made a bit of a scene at breakfast, and people noticed you weren't around for lunch."

"I'll go to dinner, then. I didn't want to deal with Dobby, anyway."

"Thanks," Hermione said with a sigh. They resumed their journey toward the common room.

"Did you have an argument today" Harry asked as they neared the Fat Lady.

Hermione seemed to wait a moment before answering. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I did. You're not starting to read minds like Ginny, are you?" Hermione stopped in front of the Fat Lady. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"It's alright. You can say her name," Harry said with reassuring look. "She can read minds?"

"Well, no, I— I mean, how could she? But you must have noticed that she's annoyingly good at ... well, _knowing_ when you're lying."

"Yeah, I guess I did know that," Harry said as he walked into the common room. Hermione had a point, and Harry realized that some part of him already knew. She'd always caught him when he was lying. Was she able to tell what he was thinking? How much did she know?

Hermione convinced Harry to stay with her in the common room. They sat and talked lightly about Potions and all the other things the D.A. had been doing without Harry's knowledge. Among the more interesting things was a network of odd pets in the different houses that could be used to transfer messages without any of the members leaving their houses.

"That's how we got the word out last night that you were with Dumbledore. The Aurors wouldn't let us out, but Crookshanks was able to leave and return without them even knowing," she explained. "It isn't that we were keeping it a secret. We just... didn't want to bother you with it."

"Did Ginny know?"

"Of course."

"She used to tell me everything," Harry said, his voice dropping a bit.

"She would have told you, Harry. It wasn't a secret, I swear. Last night was the first time we ever tried using it. We've also got a number of D.A members who've agreed to make sure that at least two of them have their owls in their rooms instead of the owlry, just in case we can't get to it. I don't know why we'd need that, but Zabini suggested it, and it can't hurt."

"I guess," Harry said.

"We would have told you if you'd asked, but why would you care about all that? Students and professors are being attacked. You know when it happens. You can do something about it. We just have to sit around and wait. We just... we needed to feel like we were doing _something_ to help, even if it was pointless and silly."

Harry had to admit, again, that Hermione had a point. As they sat and talked about the Transfiguration essay due next week, Ron stepped into the common room, followed by a number of other students. More of the Gryffindors were returning from class. Harry ignored the rest of them, and watched Hermione's reaction as Ron walked over to them. If they were going to argue, he wanted to try and get comfortable in a place as far from them as possible.

But Hermione didn't seem tense at all. Neither did Ron. He flopped down on the couch next to Hermione with a smile. Hermione seemed relaxed.

"Rough day?" Ron asked. Hermione nodded.

Harry stared at his friends. They always seemed to get past their arguments quickly, but this was abnormal. Just minutes earlier, Hermione had seemed almost depressed. As soon as Ron showed up she seemed to forget all of it.

"I thought you'd had an argument," Harry said.

Ron looked almost insulted. "Argument? Why would _we_ be arguing? You were the one acting like a prat." Hermione threw a nasty look at him. "Right, like you didn't think so? Maybe you're forgetting about breakfast?" In a higher pitched voice Ron started mimicking Hermione. "'If he wants to be a prat, then maybe he should just stay in his room for the rest of the term.'" Hermione rolled her eyes and covered her face with her hand. "What? Then why'd you look at me like that?" Hermione dropped her hand and stared at Ron in annoyed disbelief. Ron stared back. "You're flipping mental, you know?"

Ron looked over at Harry and shrugged. "She's had a bad day—missed lunch. I'd be a bit tetchy, too."

Harry realized that Hermione was trying not to look at him. If she hadn't been fighting with Ron, who had she be fighting with? She'd seemed quite upset. Harry's curiosity got the better of him.

"So, who _were_ you fighting with?"

Ron's eyes widened and he looked at Hermione, too. "You were in an argument? Bad marks on the Runes essay?"

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. "It's neither of your business," she said in an irritated voice. "I thought you knew, but if you don't I'm not going to tell you."

"See? Tetchy," Ron whispered to Harry with a nod.

"And I got full marks on that essay, by the way," Hermione added. As she turned to look away, Harry saw her eyes lock on something behind him. Hermione seemed to suddenly tense up, the way he'd expected her to when she saw Ron. Harry turned to try and catch whatever had caused the reaction.

Behind him, a small parade of students were coming through the portrait, still wearing some protective clothing from their Care of Magical Creatures class. In the middle of the group was Ginny. As Harry watched, she glanced over at Harry and Hermione, but immediately turned away and dashed up the stairs to her dormitory.

"What were you and Ginny arguing about?"

Hermione just shot him a glare as if it were the stupidest question in the world. She wouldn't say anything more about it, even when Ron started to ask questions. Instead, she distracted him by suggesting they head down to the Great Hall.

They sat in their normal places. Ginny sat about ten feet away, surrounded by other fifth years, and refused to make eye contact with Harry. It felt annoying that Ginny refused to even look at him, but not as annoying as the looks he was getting from everyone else. He found it a bit distracting, and doubt slowly stole his appetite from him.

"Is there a reason why I keep thinking everyone is talking about me?"

"Ignore them, Harry," Hermione said without looking up.

"So they _are_ talking about me?"

"Mate, they've always been talking about you," Ron said between bites of food. "I'd say it's a little late to start getting paranoid about it."

Harry scowled at him. "So you're on her side, then?" Hermione rolled her eyes and mercilessly stabbed a carrot. Ron looked from Harry to Hermione. "I guess so," he said with a shrug before going back to his food.

Harry tried to ignore them, but the more he tried, the more conspicuous the looks became. Was everyone talking about him? What had happened since that morning? Surely they weren't talking about his strange behavior during breakfast. Harry picked at his food reluctantly, wishing that time would pass faster, or that at least Ron would eat faster so they could leave.

Well after Harry had pushed his plate away, and shortly after Ron had moved on to a small plate of one of the puddings, Katie Bell walked over and pushed aside some second years to make room to sit down.

"Hello Hermione, Ron," she said with polite nods, "Nice to see you back, Harry."

Harry nodded and pretended to drink some pumpkin juice so he wouldn't have to say anything. If only they put larger cups on the tables.

"So, is it true?" she whispered toward Harry.

"Not here, Katie," Hermione said through gritted teeth.

"Is what true?" Harry replied, as his curiosity forced him to give up on the juice. Maybe she'd tell him what everyone was talking about.

"Relax, I'll be really quiet. It'll look like I'm talking to you about Quidditch," she whispered. "Is it true about you and Ginny? You're not together anymore?"

"Well, she hasn't said a word to me all day. She hasn't even looked at me. If we were together, I'd say that we were doing about the worst possible job of it."

"So what about the rest?" Katie whispered.

What else had she heard? Even the Aurors didn't really know what happened. Madam Pomfrey probably didn't either.

"What else is there?" he said with narrowed eyes.

"That's what I thought. I didn't really ever believe it. It was pretty far fetched. It's probably just a bunch of second years trying to make friends." Katie was about to leave, but Harry stopped her and made her tell him what she'd heard.

"Supposedly, a few Ravenclaw second years had a bit of an accident with some potion ingredients and had to dash to see Pomfrey. But on their way there, they saw Ginny leaving the Wing." Katie's voice got a little louder as she started talking faster.

"They said her eyes and face were all red, like she'd been beaten up. They figured she'd just come from a D.A. meeting, but then they heard this afternoon that you'd broken up, well... you know. They assumed they were related. It didn't help when Ginny didn't come down to breakfast."

"Katie, lower your voice," Hermione hissed.

"What? Everyone's talking about it already, aren't they" Katie replied, "It's not like I'm the first person to mention it. I didn't believe it for a second," she said quickly with a quick glance at Harry. "I mean, it's preposterous. I've been telling the other Gryffindors to ask people to stop spreading it around."

"Why?" Harry asked in a dead voice.

"Well, its silly, isn't it?" Katie said in an even louder voice. "The idea that you'd beat Ginny senseless, and that she'd dump you is just a bit—"

Harry's voice seemed to cut through the noise of the hall. "I'd say that's a pretty accurate description, actually,"

Katie's mouth dropped open, and her eyes were larger than Harry had ever seen them. Down the table there was a loud _clang_ as a cup bounced off a plate. A series of gasps made Harry look over at the source.

Ginny Weasley was standing near the spot where she'd been sitting earlier. Her face was turning more red every moment, and her eyes were staring at Harry with more anger and malice than he'd imagined possible from her.

"_YOU SHUT UP, HARRY POTTER!_" she shouted. "_How DARE you?_ How—" Ginny was shaking with rage, but Harry noticed a single tear rolling down the side of her face. "How... How COULD YOU? Don't you even _THINK_ about talking about... about..." She almost finished, but restrained herself once she realized everyone was watching her intently.

With a shout of anger and frustration, she launched a roll at Harry's head. He ducked and blocked it with his arms, but when he looked up again, Ginny was racing along the tables toward the door. Harry stood up.

"Sit down, Harry," Hermione said angrily. "I think you've done quite enough."

Katie sat as still as a statue, her eyes still fixed on Harry, as if she expected him to change into someone (or something) else at any moment.

"Come on, Katie. I'll try to explain it to you," Hermione said as she stood up. She turned back to look at Ron. "Do whatever you want with him," she said with a nod at Harry. "I'd like to suggest a pair of Bludgers, or perhaps a bag full of books, but I honestly don't care right now."

* * *

Harry sat limply in the chair by the fire. The common room had finally quieted down, and he took the time to enjoy a moment of irresponsible laziness before he went to work on his Potions essay. 

He and Hermione had gotten the potion right. It worked just the way it was supposed to. Snape had assigned them the essay anyway, claiming that it was by mere luck that the potion turned out. He'd said that their wormwood was old and that their beetles hadn't been crushed quite right. Of course, it had been the wormwood Hermione had prepared and the beetles Harry himself had crushed.

Harry decided that he wanted to finish the essay as soon as possible. It wasn't like he had all that much else to do. There was only so many times he could play chess in one night and without Hermione or Ginny to talk to, Harry found himself getting a little bored.

The common room was empty. Most of the students were either in the Great Hall watching McGonagall and Flitwick demonstrate some advanced charms or in the library studying for O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s. As he rolled out the parchment and began to write, he saw Ron and Hermione walk past him to the portrait hole. Perhaps it was fortunate that Harry had a Potions essay to write. He'd have felt even worse if he'd have stopped Ron and Hermione from spending some time alone with each other.

Harry watched as they stepped through, but he didn't hear the _click_ of the portrait swinging back into place. When he looked up, Ron's head was poking into the room, and looking at him strangely.

"You feel like joining us?" he asked.

"Joining... you two?" Harry asked. What was Ron thinking?

"Well, yeah," Ron said. "Why are you looking at me like I just asked you to eat a flobberworm? If you don't want to, that's fine with me, but Hermione and Ginny won't be happy."

Ginny? Harry squinted back at him, "What are you on about? What exactly would we be doing?"

Hermione stepped back into the common room, looking distinctly impatient. "The D.A. Meeting? You didn't feel it this morning? We changed the time twice."

Harry instinctively reached for his pockets, but he knew they were empty. "No... I guess I haven't been carrying my coin."

"Brilliant, Harry," Hermione replied with an annoyed look. "There's a meeting. Now. You can finish the Potions essay tomorrow."

"Why are we having a meeting?" Harry asked as he closed his text, rolled the parchment back up and stuffed them both back in his bag.

"Because we haven't had a meeting for a while," Ron replied. "Hurry up, everyone's probably taking the best seats."

Harry reluctantly slung his bag over his should and followed Ron and Hermione to the Room of Requirement. Part of him liked the idea of doing something other than writing a Potions essay, but another part thought there wasn't much point in a D.A. meeting right then.

He seemed to be the only one, however. The Room was packed with what looked to be every single member of the D.A. It had been impossible to pull off gatherings like this earlier. What had changed?

Harry took his customary seat in the corner, facing the rest of the students. The various Council members sat nearby, including Ginny, who was looking at Harry openly for the first time in a week. She didn't look happy, and yet not actually angry. She seemed instead to be watching him, and waiting for him to do something.

Harry tried to ignore her. Instead he focused on the rest of the students. They were chatting idly as the last few members filtered in and shyly took seats in the back of the group. The group was slowly becoming quieter as they began staring at him.

"What?" Harry asked defensively.

"There are more people here than we've had in a long time, Harry. I don't know who else you could possibly be waiting for," Cho said evenly. "Maybe we should just get started."

"Get started on what?" Harry asked with a shrug. "I didn't even know there was a meeting. Why are we all here?"

"Been that long, has it?" Blaise Zabini laughed. "If memory serves, I think it has something to do with learning to defend ourselves." Harry glared at Blaise, and he returned a defiant smile.

Harry hadn't had any time to plan anything. He wasn't even sure what more they could learn that would be worth their time. He didn't have any ideas, and wasn't in the mood to do much thinking about it. Instead he called the Council into a corner while the rest of the students watched as they paired up and dueled each other.

The Council didn't have any more ideas than Harry did. Ginny remained conspicuously quiet. They had called the meeting simply because so many of them were eager to get more practice in.

"Fine then," Harry said finally. "Let's get some practice in."

The others looked at him oddly. They clearly didn't know what he meant, but they seemed happy that a decision had been made.

Harry got everyone's attention and they gathered around him. He started by asking everyone why they thought they needed more practice in. Their answers, however, didn't make him happy. Again and again, members would say that they wanted a stronger Stunner, or they wanted to work more on one of the many other attack charms the Aurors had told them about, or they wanted to get better at fighting more than one opponent. It didn't take long before Harry stopped.

He looked at the fourth year who'd just answered him, and shook his head. "When do you think you're going to actually use a Flame-Whip Charm?" he asked the smaller boy.

The boy seemed a bit confused. "The Aurors said it was good for attacking wizards around corners."

"Precisely," Harry said with frustration. "And what are you doing attacking anyone around a corner? Now, you may have a chance if it's only one Death Eater, but if there's one around the corner, there are probably going to be two more down the hall. If you ever find yourself around the corner from a Death Eater," Harry said pointing his finger at the boy, "Run. It may be your only chance to escape."

"That goes for the rest of you, as well," Harry continued. "A good Stunner will only help if there isn't another wizard behind that one. Firing off spell after spell will only make you a target. None of these things will really help you. If you make yourself a threat to them, they will make certain that threat is removed."

"What are you saying Harry," one of the Hufflepuffs called out, "Are we supposed to practice running and hiding? I could do that well enough before I joined up."

"Could you?" Harry challenged. "I'm only alive because I ran. The spells we learned. All the practice of fighting in groups. It's all just an exercise. If any of you ever face the Death Eaters, you're only chance will be to run."

"So we're just supposed to run away as soon as we see danger?" one of the Ravenclaw girls said in a disappointed voice. "I thought Dumbledore said we were supposed to help?"

"What help would you be?" Harry questioned them. Everyone was silent. "Can any of you stand against a group of enemies for any period of time?"

"We've done it before!" a small, but energetic Gryffindor shouted. It was one of the third years. "It's not like it's impossible. You and Ron did it."

Harry gave them an emotionless smile. "Well then, I believe we've found our lesson for the night."

Harry gathered all the students on one half of the room, and asked for a volunteer. The same Gryffindor third year who'd been so sure of himself volunteered immediately. Harry shook his head as he led him to the other half of the room.

"You'll stand here," he told the boy, "and the rest of you will take turns attacking him. At first, just two at a time. Now, you—" he said as he pointed at the boy. "—You cannot attack them at all. And those of you in the front may want to keep your wands ready in case any spells come flying back."

The boy looked distinctly less confident than he had when he volunteered. Hermione gave Harry a concerned look, but he ignored it and sat on the back of a sofa which was conveniently located against the wall halfway between the boy and the rest of the D.A.

"First two," Harry called out, "Nothing dangerous. Don't stop until he's disabled. Start when you like."

A pair of Ravenclaws stepped forward. Without any other word, they pulled out their wands and fired off a pair of spells. The young Gryffindor had dodged the first spell, but didn't have time to do anything against the second. His body went stiff, and he fell to the floor.

A moment later, he was walking back to the other side of the room, and a fifth-year Slytherin girl was in his place. She'd dodged the first two spells by diving to the ground, but the next spell was a Floor-Binding Hex, and with her hands cemented to the floor, she'd been unable to do anything against the stunner. The next boy failed to finish his Shield Charm before the first spell hit him, and the boy after him managed to dodge four spells before tripping over an ottoman and tossing his wand into a corner.

"Dodging spells will only work for so long," Harry announced from his perch. "You can run from one hex, but eventually you will have to run where a spell is already headed." He tried to hide his disappointment. They were worse at this than he'd hoped. Of course, the older students seemed to be watching and waiting. Finally, Katie Bell walked across the room, wand in hand.

She did better than anyone before her, deflecting one of the spells with her own spell, a move that got complaints from the other half of the room. But she hadn't attacked her attackers, she'd used a spell to deflect another spell. She blocked the next spell, sending it back at the Ravenclaw who'd cast it. As many of the students put up their own Shields to block it, the other attacker summoned ropes around Katie. She was easily disarmed.

Others tried, and few did as well as Katie. Cho Chang had a go, but by then, Harry was making the older students face three attackers. She didn't last long, but made a fine attempt.

It was slowly becoming clear to the students just what Harry had been talking about. He interrupted the session.

"You'll never be able to face more than two opponents unless you're able to cast a decent Shield Charm. Let's see how you handle just protecting yourself with the strongest Shield Charms you can."

They did slightly better with this exercise. Each student took turns trying to protect themselves again and again against the strongest hexes the rest of the students could cast. They kept the spells coming, but never faster than a Shield Charm could be put up. Eventually, the strongest members took positions up front, and the rest of the students just watched.

Ron took his turn defending himself, and did pretty well, until Ginny surprised him with a powerful Banishing Charm. He didn't get his Shield up before the next spell from Katie hit him. After that, he forced Ginny to take her turn.

She calmly cast Shield after Shield, seeming only mildly tense. More than one spell rebounded off into the crowd of students, and Harry was fairly convinced that the two which had shot toward him had done so intentionally. As the 'attackers' fired off spells faster, she had a harder time covering herself with Shield Charms. Finally, Ginny's wand leapt from her hand as it swooped through the air, landing neatly at Hermione's feet.

"Shield Charms are not perfect," Harry said as Ginny walked back. "They can be broken. Death Eaters will not be attacking you only with Tickling Hexes and the Jelly-Legs Jinx."

Hermione took her place, and the older students started firing spells at her. They tried their best, but she simply didn't make any mistakes.

"We'll never get through them," Hannah said after another failed attempt.

"Try harder," Harry said.

Several of the older students glared at him. They took their time, focusing as hard as they could on their spells, but Hermione held on. Even Ginny was only able to make her flinch for a moment.

"Am I done yet, Harry?" Hermione asked after deflecting yet another spell.

"Not yet," Harry answered. She blocked a couple more spells. As she put up another shield, Harry quickly pulled his wand from his pocket.

"_Stupefy!_"

The jet of red light slammed into Hermione's left side, bouncing off into the ceiling. Hermione however, had been sent sprawling by the impact, eventually crashing very un-gracefully to the floor. Her wand skittered across the floor until it hit the baseboards on the far wall.

"What was that for?" Ron shouted.

"That was to show you how much you can rely upon Shield Charms to keep you safe in a real fight," Harry replied flatly as he put his wand back in his pocket. "They work quite well until someone puts it in their mind to defeat you."

Hermione picked herself up off the floor. She retrieved her wand and walked back to the rest of the students as she rubbed the side of her face. A large section of her cheek was bruising under a series of long scratches from her temple to her jaw.

The rest of the students returned to the Shield Charm practice. The younger students were slowly improving, and the older students seemed to understand what it took to break them, now. Harry watched half-heartedly, and he didn't notice that Ginny and Hermione had separated themselves until they were right in front of him.

"When is it your turn, Harry?" Ginny asked. It had been one of the few things Ginny had said to him —without yelling— in the past week.

"I'm not taking a turn," he said without looking at her. He'd desperately wanted to be able to look her in the eyes. He hoped that if he would look, he'd see sign that Ginny was alright, some spark of happiness that would tell him that she still cared for him. It would be worth whatever she said if he could just see that. Instead, he focused on the students practicing in the center of the room. It was better to simply imagine that it was possible, than to turn and have to know the truth.

"Why not?" she asked, with as little emotion as Harry had answered.

"Not much of a point, is there?" he responded in a much lower voice.

"And why not?" Ginny asked with a hint of anger entering her voice. "Why shouldn't you practice just as much as the rest of us? Why shouldn't you be practicing more?"

"Haven't you been listening?" Harry shot back. He'd almost turned to look at her, but caught himself, and stared at the floor instead. "I have no more chance of fighting like this than any of you. Unlike them, I already know that it's not worth fighting a battle you cannot win. That's the purpose of the lesson. I could take a turn and show them, but what's the point?"

"What's the _point_?" Harry could hear the resolve in her voice. "You're willing to just give up? You can't imagine a reason to fight?"

"The more I fight, the more people get hurt."

Abruptly, Ginny turned and walked off, leaving Hermione standing nearby, staring worriedly at Harry. With a frown she turned and followed Ginny.

A moment later, the room flashed red, as sparks shot into the air and bounced off the ceiling. Everyone stopped, and looked to the source.

Ginny was standing behind everyone, her wand raised. "It's been suggested that we show you just what we are talking about defending ourselves against." Ginny glared at Harry as she continued. "So, we are going to try something new."

Ginny walked over to the empty half of the room and faced the rest of the D.A. "Hermione. Ron. Cho. Katie. Would you join me?" Hermione slowly walked over to stand behind Ginny. Ron followed close behind her, but gave Ginny a questioning look as he passed her. Katie and Cho looked just as confused, and after a moment, joined Ron and Hermione.

"Third- and fourth-years, stand against the far wall."

They did as they were told, though a few of the third-years seemed a bit paler than usual.

"The rest of you are going to attack us." Katie, Cho and Ron all gaped at Ginny. "No Stunners, no Full Body Binds, but nothing too lethal, please. We will fight back using whatever we can. We won't be going easy on you, so you'd best disable all of us before we have a chance to hurt you." Ginny turned to look at Harry. She looked almost apologetic. "I'm sure Harry will make sure that anyone with serious injuries gets treated ...quickly."

"Are you insane?" Katie hissed. "Five against twenty? It's impossible."

"What are you playing at, Ginny?" Ron asked. Behind him, the rest of the D.A. looked just as confused, but Hannah, Daphne Greengrass, and Blaise Zabini were slowly organizing the rest of the students.

"I'm showing everyone what we're really talking about in this little club of ours," Ginny answered. She turned to Harry and raised her voice. "We still have the Portkeys, don't we?"

Harry narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what Ginny was trying to prove. "Yeah," he answered. "We haven't had to use them in ages, though. Will the still work?"

After a bit of discussion, Cho and Ron agreed that they should work just fine. "Don't use them until it's all over..." Ginny told Harry, "but... you know... Be quick about it after that."

Harry summoned a number of small cloth bags across the room and set them on the couch around his feet. The Aurors had given them to the D.A. earlier that year when they'd learned various curses to disable opponents. Inside each bag was a small cube which, once touched, would transport everyone holding it to the Hospital Wing after six seconds. They'd only ever used three of them, and two had been used the night they'd received them.

He didn't know what Ginny had planned, but how many of them could they really need? When he looked back at his friends, they were huddled together and whispering. The other students were looking curiously at each other.

Finally the smaller group turned to face the students who would be attacking them shortly. Ron and Hermione stood in front, with Katie, Cho and Ginny squeezing in behind them. They're using Ron and Hermione as shields, he thought to himself. What had Ginny planned? She must think she can defeat them all. Harry straightened his glasses and jumped off the couch to get a better view.

"We'll start as soon as you fire the first hex," Ginny announced. She was concentrating intently on the line of wizards on the other side of the room. Cho looked a little frightened, and Katie looked like she didn't want to be there. Ron and Hermione were too focused on their attackers to show any emotion.

Without warning, blue sparks erupted from one of the corners of the room. A shot of blue light raced toward the defenders, but ricocheted harmlessly into the ceiling as it struck Ron's Shield Charm. In the split second after everyone realized that the exercise had started three spells were headed back toward the attackers. Luna Lovegood and another Ravenclaw fell to the ground, completely bound together with rope. Two other students fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

The remaining students fired off a chorus of Disarming Spells and a few other odd hexes. The sheer number of spells made it easier for Ginny and the others. Few of the spells reached their intended target, and Ron and Hermione blocked those. A moment later, two more attackers fell, but they had begun to use their own Shield Charms. The next round, a fifth-year Hufflepuff lost his wand after being hit with a Leg-Locker from Cho and being pushed to the ground by a friend trying to dodge another spell.

Harry hadn't imagined it would go quite that well for his friends. He had to admit that it was mostly due to a lack of organization on the other students behalf. And unfortunately for his friends, that was changing.

Blaise Zabini charged out along the far wall behind a group of sixth-years, forcing Cho and Katie to try and stop them. While they focused on the new threat, Hannah Abbot was quietly muttering a spell along the opposite wall.

From behind the group of defenders, a chair jumped off its stack and sailed toward Hannah. Before it could reach her, however, it slammed into Cho Chang, sending her sprawling to the floor as the chair landed nearby. As Cho dove for her wand, Zabini saw an opening, and Banished the chair back toward Cho. It struck her arm, causing her to yelp in pain. A moment later, ropes from four different wands wrapped around her. Only four of the defenders were left.

Harry watched as Ginny turned to find Hannah, who was aiming her wand at another chair. He wasn't terribly far from her, and his mind picked her voice out of the noise.

"_Fractus!_"

There was a dull _crack_ followed by a shriek as Hannah dropped her wand and slumped against the wall, holding her right upper arm. Katie paused to stare in shock at Ginny. The rest of the attackers seemed stunned for a moment as the tension in the room rose significantly. She'd said they would defend themselves however they could.

Without any orders, the attackers realized that if Ginny could use it, so could they. The next barrage of spells was much more dangerous. Without Cho, only Katie was really able to send any curses toward their attackers. Ginny was busy trying to keep Blaise from getting behind all of them.

Katie sent a chair flying into the crowd, sending a number of students to the floor. They were still conscious, but they weren't firing spells. In the break however, Harry could see three students crouched to the floor, aiming their wands to the ceiling.

"_Difindo!_" one shouted. The other two were simultaneous, and only a fraction of a second behind the first.

"_Difindo!_"

The three spells raced toward the ceiling. The first one struck the heavy chain holding an large iron lamp from the ceiling. The second one missed, but the third struck just where the first had, snapping the chain clean.

_CLANG!_

The lamp struck the ground in a shower of sparks mere feet behind Katie. She whirled around looking for someone to attack. There was no one there, and by time she'd turned back to face the others, a number of curses were headed her way. The first was just a Leg-Locker. The next was not so painless. A bolt of silver sparks slammed into her chest, knocking her to the ground. As she gasped for breath, her wand leapt from her limp hand, and ropes fastened themselves around her.

Blaise Zabini was running along the wall with the only three Slytherins in the D.A. They were almost behind Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Ron saw what was happening.

"The wall! Left!" He shouted. "We have to get to the wall!"

Another group of students were making their way along the wall opposite Blaise. Ginny and Hermione both turned and ran for the wall not far from Harry. Ron put up a Shield and dashed after them. Ginny and Hermione turned as the reached the wall, but Ron stumbled over Katie's legs and fell the ground.

When he tried to get up, he found himself frozen to the floor. As Hermione quickly cast the counter-spell, a number of hexes struck Ron. Harry swallowed hard as Ron shouted in pain. He finally pulled free of the floor and limped toward Hermione and Ginny. Harry could see blood from Ron's shin soaking through his trousers.

This was getting serious. Harry looked around the room and saw a number of students lying on the ground. Some of them nursing broken bones, some tied in ropes, and some who'd simply given up, and were sitting against the wall, wincing in pain. The rest of them, were closing in on Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

Ron stood gingerly on his good leg and fired off a couple spells, eventually sending Anthony Goldstein running as he tried to pull off his flaming robes. In the confusion, Ginny raised her wand.

"_Turbosus!_"

A large white mist rushed out of the tip of her wand, and she pulled Ron and Hermione with her as the dashed through the other students. Before they got far, Ron shouted in pain, and fell to the ground again. A pair of Hufflepuffs saw him and took aim with their wands.

"No!" Hermione shouted as she leapt between them and Ron. Her Shield Charm blocked the first one, but the second charm broke through, and struck her in the temple. She dropped to the ground and curled up in pain, coughing and gasping for air.

Ron struggled to his feet, but too slowly. Hermione was surrounded. Ginny had moved to the corner nearest Harry, and was slashing the air in front of her with a large strand of flame coming from the tip of her wand. Three students had fallen to the ground in front of her, nursing burns and searching for their wands.

It was getting out of control. What was this supposed to teach anyone? Ron was slowly working his way over toward Ginny. Most of the remaining students were focusing on her. Ron's limp was getting worse. He took another student by tripping them and tossing their wand to the third years.

There was a loud shriek and everyone turned to find its source. Ginny was pushing herself back up with one leg.

"_Fractus!_" she shouted, and Blaise Zabini retreated holding his shoulder, and stumbling in pain.

There weren't many attackers left, but it was still too many. They started firing off spell after spell, hiding behind a pair of students casting Shield Charms. Ron tried to help Ginny, but he was tied up before he could reach her.

Ginny kept fighting, though. She hadn't hit anyone with any spell in some time, but she stood in her corner fighting. She'd been hit many times, yet she refused to give up.

There was another sickening _crack_ followed by a choked scream. Ginny's right arm hung limp at her side. The students stopped celebrating a moment later when two of them dropped to the floor limply. The rest of them turned on her and unleashed a round of Clubbing Hexes.

Ginny was bent double in the corner. The last students had stopped again, waiting to see if they'd succeeded. Slowly, Ginny straightened. Blood was dripping from her nose, and her breathing was slow and rough. Slowly and shakily, she raised her wand. The other students raised theirs, and started to shout their own spells.

Harry had seen enough. With a flourish, he sent the nearest one crashing into the rest of them.

"ENOUGH!" he shouted. "IT'S OVER!" The students on the floor seemed more relieved than upset at his interference. "Fourth-years, make sure everyone gets down to the Hospital Wing. There are only seven Portkeys, so get as many people as you can on each of them. Leave one for me."

Ginny stood in the corner while Harry freed Ron, Hermione and Katie. Cho was already up and helping organize the rest of the members.

"Why'd you stop it, Harry?" Ginny asked as Hermione put Ron's leg in a splint. When Harry didn't answer, she spoke up. "_Why'd you stop it, Harry?_ We weren't finished! Why did you interfere?"

"Because it was meaningless!" he shouted back at her. Instantly everyone's attention was drawn to them. "You were just getting hurt!"

"That's what happens when you _fight back_, Harry. People get hurt. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to fight even though they get hurt, or are you going to turn your backs on them, and run?"

"No!" Harry yelled. "I'll fight for them!"

"Then fight me!" Ginny challenged.

"I've already dueled against you. What's the point of doing it again?"

"Fight me now," Ginny said calmly. "Fight me right here."

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Ron said from behind Harry, "You can't even walk."

Ginny gritted her teeth and held her wand in her right hand. With her other arm she pushed off from the wall and took two shaky steps forward, putting her face to face with Harry.

Harry watched as the color drained out of Ginny's face and a single tear ran down her cheek.

"You need to go to the Hospital Wing. We'll duel later," Harry said as he reached for her.

"We'll fight NOW!" shouted Ginny as dodged Harry's hand and instead shoved him away from her. He tripped over a pile of ropes and fell to floor. Ginny slowly advanced on him as he got to his feet.

"Come on, _Potter_," she sneered. "Are you a coward? What are you afraid of?"

"You're hurt, Ginny—"

"And when did you develop this sudden aversion to me being subjected to _pain_, Harry?" she said as she shoved him again. Harry stayed on his feet this time.

"I'm not going to fight you like this, Ginny. I said I was sorry. Don't do this—"

Ginny's pace increased as her eyes flashed in anger. "You'll fight me or you'll leave." Ginny waved her wand, and the door to the room burst open behind Harry. "Which is it, Harry? Are you going to give up and run away, or do you have the spine to finish it?"

"Finish what?"

"What we've started! Will you see it through? Or are you going to give up and run away at the end because you don't want to see me hurt?"

"I won't hurt you," Harry said. "Not again."

"If only you'd have thought of that a WEEK AGO, you selfish coward!" Ginny took two quick steps and shoved Harry with both her arms. He tried to keep his balance, but Ginny had been stronger than he expected. Before he knew it, he was lying on his back in the hallway. When he looked back into the room, Ginny was lying on her side, taking shaky breaths as Ron and Hermione kneeled over her. A small group of students walked over to her, and a few seconds later, the lot of them blinked away into nothingness.

Harry walked back into the room. The last group of students disappeared, leaving him with only the third- and fourth-year members, and a few of the older members who weren't seriously injured. They were all looking at him strangely, as if they didn't quite understand what they'd just seen. To be honest, Harry still didn't understand.

"I... er... I think we're done for tonight," he said to them. "I guess I should go to the Hospital Wing. You lot... I— I really don't care. Do whatever you like."

Harry walked out of the Room of Requirement. He felt numb. He'd been wrong. He didn't quite understand how or why, but he knew he'd been wrong. It wasn't about the D.A. at all. Ginny was trying to show _him_ something. It seemed to be in his mind somewhere, but he couldn't see it yet. All he could see now was her, curled up on the floor, shaking with pain.

He pushed the image from his mind. He had to get to the Hospital Wing. Pomfrey would call Dumbledore, and Dumbledore would want to talk to him. Harry just wished he had answers to give him.

When Harry finally got down to the Hospital Wing, the full weight of what had happened hit him. Madam Pomfrey was running from bed to bed frantically distributing potions while trying to heal the worst injuries. Even Snape was there, filling bottles out of a large cauldron. He saw Harry standing in the doorway, and his face twisted into a smile.

"I will assume there is some explanation for this, Harry?" Harry spun around to find Albus Dumbledore standing before him. He looked quite serious.

"There was a D.A. meeting. We were... er... practicing."

"I see," Dumbledore said. Without another word, he swept off toward Madam Pomfrey who was busy mending Ron's leg. Harry followed slowly, trying to stay out of the way.

"Albus!" Pomfrey exclaimed when he walked up to her. "Would you please send someone to look for Harry Potter? I can scarcely imagine what he's done to himself this time, but I'd rather patch him up now than later."

"Harry is here, Poppy," Dumbledore said evenly, "and he is uninjured." Dumbledore turned to look at Harry. "Or to be correct: he is no more injured than he was this morning."

"How curious," Snape commented as he stirred a steaming cauldron. "Were you simply lucky, Potter, or were you the source of all this mayhem?"

"Well, that's one less student I have to deal with," Madam Pomfrey said as she ran off toward one of the beds surrounded by curtains.

"Harry Potter!"

Harry didn't have to look to know that the voice came from Professor McGonagall.

"What is the meaning of this?" she said as she strode toward him. "At least you had the sense to keep the younger students out of this, but this behavior is completely irresponsible! If you were a prefect, I'd take your badge! As you are not, I am a loss to imagine a punishment suitable for such gross misbehavior."

Harry felt heat rising in his face. If he'd been a prefect, he'd still have been doing the right thing and being scolded for it.

"I didn't—"

"—Think?" interrupted Professor McGonagall. "You didn't know Cracking Hexes worked on _bones_? Or perhaps you weren't watching while half of the students were attacking each other. Honestly, Potter, have you lost your sense? I don't care what you _thought_ you were teaching these students, but this lack of judgment cannot go unpunished."

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Harry shouted at her. The rest of the room became silent.

"You didn't..." McGonagall muttered as she tried to recover from the shock of being shouted at. "Are you saying they did this all themselves? Whose idea was it, then?"

"It was mine."

Harry, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall all turned to stare in shock at Hermione. She was sitting on a nearby bed and giving Ron an angry look.

"We wanted to give everyone a demonstration of what it was really like to have to defend yourself," Hermione explained. She stood up and walked over to where Harry was standing. The bruise on her face was little more than a pinkish patch on her cheek, now.

"Was there any reason _why_, Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked. She seemed caught between outrage and betrayal.

"Well, yes. We... er... I'm not sure I can really explain."

"You can't explain?" McGonagall replied with an astonished look. "I'm afraid that simply unacceptable, Miss Granger."

"She can't explain because she doesn't know. Hermione only helped," Ginny said as she limped across the room. "It was my idea to do it.

"Miss Weasley! Get back to your bed!" Madam Pomfrey called out from across the room. "That leg was broken only a minute ago!"

"I'll be fine," Ginny replied over her shoulder. Madam Pomfrey didn't respond.

McGonagall was glaring at Ginny now. "And do _you_ have a good reason for endangering so many students?" Ginny nodded and said nothing. She stared at Dumbledore for a tense moment, then at Harry.

"Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private?" Dumbledore suggested as he guided Ginny toward one of the side rooms. "Harry, Hermione, if you would join us."

After the door was closed Ginny limped to a chair and slowly sat down. The color was back in her face, but she had bandages around her arm. She immediately explained what they had done, and tried to briefly describe the outcome.

Dumbledore watched her closely the entire time. "And this was done for a specific purpose?"

Ginny sat back in her chair, and closed her eyes. "A lesson must be learned." Harry felt a twinge in his mind. Those were Voldemort's words. She knew they were. He'd shared them with her through the Mirrors during the summer.

Dumbledore's eyes remained locked on her face, seemingly oblivious to the source of the comment. "And there was no better way of teaching them this lesson?"

"It was not their lesson," Ginny said in dull tones.

"Stop it," Harry growled.

"Stop, what, _Potter_?" Ginny replied. "Stop revealing how weak you are? Stop showing you how you'll fail?"

"Stop talking like Voldemort!"

"Why? You seem to actually listen to what he says!" Ginny yelled in a dry voice. "Open your eyes and look at what's happening, Harry. Whatever else happens, you _must finish it_. No one else can do it. If I could do it with you, I would. So would all of us. But we can't. We all have to rely on you. If you can't..."

Ginny's face fell and looked suddenly mournful. She stood up slowly on a shaky leg, and walked to the door.

"I still believe in you, Harry Potter," Ginny said as she opened the door. "That's all I have left. I'm afraid I've lost everything else. Even you." She turned and quietly slipped out of the door. Harry sat through an uncomfortable silence as everyone stared at him.

"I hope you have learned something from this, Harry," Dumbledore said as he followed McGonagall out of the room.

Harry sat down heavily. "Yes. I think I have." Though in his mind he wasn't sure if he understood everything Ginny had tried to say. Hermione said nothing, but just smiled at Harry and waited for him to leave.

He couldn't do it alone. He simply couldn't. If it came down to just him, he knew he'd fail. How could he fight without anything to fight for? How could he make Ginny understand that?

* * *

Author's Notes: 

I want to thank everyone who kept reading after the last couple chapters. I did warn you, didn't I? It was hard to hear all the reviews about how happy Ginny and Harry made people knowing that was coming up. Of course, after all of you were hoping for some sort of reprieve. There is something like that coming up eventually. I'll take a moment to respond to some comments, and I'll get back to that.

Overall, from the reviews I get the impression that it was an enjoyable set of chapters, but that I have a sick mind for doing all sorts of things. It's perfectly understandable. Again, this was supposed to be Voldemort's plan, and he's trying to kill Harry. It wouldn't do to have Voldemort dislocate Ginny's shoulder. That's not nearly enough pain, and it's not nearly devious enough.

_To rdprice29:_

Thanks for the reviews, and the validation of my plot hints. I'm glad someone is following them. Perhaps you can convince Melindaleo that it's worth getting past the Harry/Hermione kisses. I have to admit that reading through your reviews just kills me. What happened to Ginny in Chapter 13 (Diagon Alley) doesn't look so bad now does it? Course, after Chapter 41, you hoped for them to be able to recover, not knowing that I was going to toss Chapter 42 at you. Now, you're demanding they get back together. Don't worry about that.

You still have other things to worry about.

_To Doffy99:_

I think there is no greater compliment to a writer (of anything: stories, songs, poems) to have a reader react emotionally rather than intellectually to writing. Its one thing to understand what is written, but its completely different to have a reader feel what is written. I'm happy I got there. I only had to mercilessly torture the main characters to get there. Splendid.

And no. I'm not JK Rowling. She'd be in serious danger if she did any of this. As for editing, I'm trying, but I'm only one guy. I've lost all my beta readers. I've edited it a couple times now, but there's only so much I can do.

_To Regulus:_

I agree. I honestly figured that no one would really ever read this, and that it would get lost in the mountains of other stories. I'm glad you found it.

_For wyadra: _

I think everything should eventually be explained in "Falling" (Chapter 45, a pivotal chapter), but there are parts of this chapter related to Ginny's behavior at the D.A. meeting that wyadra was confused about. In an attempt to prevent others from falling victim to the same problem, let me clear some things up here:

Ginny didn't stop the fight. Harry did. Ginny called Harry a coward because of that (sort of). I admit that the theme and meaning here is subtle, but I'm trying to give you one of the major themes of the book in small pieces. If I had Hermione explain it all, where would the fun be? So, to be clear: Ginny wanted Harry to let the fight continue. She wanted to keep fighting until it wasn't possible anymore. That was the point of her lesson and it was her plan from the start. Harry got in the way of that. He stopped the figtht because he didn't want her hurt any more. More importantly, he stopped the lesson because he didn't want her hurt any more. It was the latter which angered Ginny, since it signalled his failure to understand what she was trying to teach him.

This is when that first chapter might start getting a little more interesting... I can almost guarantee that no one understood the real message behind the dream.

Does that help anyone? If you find this part confusing, please let me know and I'll mark it off as a part which needs a little re-working for the next edition.

Moving on...

So, the other good news is that the story is now a whole chapter longer. I'm sure that's what everyone was hoping for. An even longer story. Well, to make everyone happy, I didn't really lengthen the story (yet). I just split Chapter 45 (which had been about 80k on disk) into two chapters. The first one is still "Falling", but I haven't thought of a name for the second. I was considering "Keep Reading, Melindaleo" or perhaps "There's only four more chapters it cant get much worse". I had named it something else, but it gave too much away.

Anyway, to celebrate this happy event, I'll give you all a teaser. Now remember, this is a teaser for Chapter 46:

* * *

"Of course," Hermione said, sounding almost annoyed, "that's why I sent Ginny to fetch that book. It isn't even up there. I just returned itto the library. It should give us plenty of time." Hermione stood and walked to Harry. She put one hand on his shoulder. 

"Time for what?" he said.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, "Harry..."

"Wait a minute," Harry said backing away. He looked behind him at the stairs to the girls dorms. They were empty and silent. "Who exactly are you starting fancy?"

"Honestly, Harry. You're almost as bad as Ron," Hermione laughed. Her eyes stared directly into Harry's as her hands nimbly worked down the front of her robes.

"Does this help?" she asked smugly.

* * *

Wow. That's so horribly wrong. I should do that more often. Just remember my promise, and keep reading. The Harry/Hermione anti-fans out there shouldn't stop reading. You just have to trust me. If you're at all worried, just ask yourself: Do I honestly think that the same guy who wrote Chapters 41 and 42 is the kind of guy to suddenly turn the story into an romantic drama? After having Harry almost torture Ginny, do you really think the climax of the story is really going to include a new romance for Harry? Shouldn't you be spending more time imagining the worst possible outcome after the teaser text? 

I'll try to post more soon. I hope to post through Chapter 46 or 47 soon.


	44. The Quidditch Captain

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 44 - The Quidditch Captain**

* * *

After the D.A. meeting, things with Ginny seemed to get even worse. She wasn't really avoiding him, but whenever she was around, Harry's mere presence seemed to drain any trace of happiness from her. It got bad enough in just under two weeks, that Ron and Hermione were the only people who really spent much time around her. The only remaining Gryffindors who'd been her friends had even started avoiding her. 

Harry tried to improve things by avoiding her, but Gryffindor Tower wasn't terribly large, and the number of students at Hogwarts was slowly shrinking, making it increasingly difficult for him to find many places outside class where she wasn't nearby.

Each day seemed to get just a little worse, and slowly Harry felt it affecting him as well. Whatever Voldemort had been trying to do, he'd at least succeeded in stripping away the last bit of happiness that Harry had. By the first week of April, Ron and Hermione were both quite worried about their friends.

They'd taken to trying to keep Harry and Ginny apart for at least part of every day. Ron would find some excuse to do something with Harry and Hermione would often drag Ginny off to the library or someplace else where they could just talk.

It didn't help much, unfortunately. At best it provided some distraction, but it was only temporary, and whatever enjoyment there was, quickly drained away when they returned. Despite the lack of effect, Harry still kept playing chess and trying out new wheezes with Ron, and Ginny still kept finding new books to read at the library. It was boring and monotonous, but it passed the time until the next disaster struck him.

The second Saturday of May dawned bright and cheery despite Harry's mood, and while most of the students had taken the opportunity to go outside, Harry spent the morning lounging on the couch and reading through his Potions and Charms texts. Ginny had taken a seat at one of the tables and was studying for the O.W.L.s which were much closer than Harry had realized.

After lunch, Ron walked up to Harry wearing his Quidditch robes. "Come on, Harry, you've studied enough," he said as he pushed Harry up the stairs to his dormitory. "Get your robes on, we're going out to the pitch."

"I don't really feel up to a match today, Ron," Harry grumbled.

"Good, because I need someone to watch and keep track of everything," Ron answered as he tossed Harry's guards at him. "You get ready and I'll be down at the pitch in about twenty minutes."

He disappeared back down the stairs leaving Harry with a pile of Quidditch equipment on his bed. Whatever Ron had in mind was better than another afternoon of obscure potions he'd never find a use for. With a mental shrug, Harry pulled on his robes and started buckling up the various guards he had. He didn't know why he'd need them. Ron said he wouldn't be playing, and they never used them for friendly games anyway.

When he finished, he walked down to an empty common room. Even Ginny and Hermione were gone. He wondered if this was something Ron had done, or if everyone else had just succumb to the allure of a warm, sunny day. In just a few minutes he was out on the pitch.

There were a number of students already there, all of them from Gryffindor by the looks of it. They were all dressed in worn robes with a rough assortment of guards and looking at him as if he might have some idea why they were here. Ron still hadn't shown up, but he still had some time before he'd said he would.

Eventually one of the younger students pointed him out, walking from the direction of the lake instead of from the castle as Harry had expected. He seemed happy and energetic, and that alone seemed to cheer Harry up a little.

"What's going on, Ron?" he asked as soon as Ron was close enough.

"Quidditch tryouts, Harry," Ron answered with a smile.

"Er... Aren't those normally held in the fall?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't do us much good, does it? By then there's barely enough time to train any of them up, and I think we've got some training to do." Ron stared at the confused look on Harry's face. "Think about it, mate," Ron whispered to him. "We're the oldest on the team, now, and we're not going to pick a pair of beaters and a chaser from the first years. We might as well pick them now and get them to practice over the summer holidays."

"Right," Harry agreed despite some confusion over Ron's eagerness. "How exactly do we pick them? We don't even have a captain for next year?"

"Actually we do," Ron whispered. "Katie and I have this agreement. We didn't figure you'd want to be captain next year, and being practical, it's difficult to have a Seeker captain anyways. Cho always had her Keeper doing most of the coordination."

"That's it?"

"Well... She said she'd do whatever it took to get me a spot on one of the professional teams if I could do any better than her."

"So every little advantage helps..." Harry said, shaking his head and stepping over his broom.

"Right," Ron agreed. "So this lot—" he motioned at the group of Gryffindors "—is going to try out for the two Beater positions, and the open Chaser position. Sloper and Kirke are in there, too, and they might be the ones we end up picking, but this should at least inspire them to practice a bit more.

A small crowd of other Gryffindors was gathering as students who had been relaxing had taken to the stands to watch the tryouts. Harry took to the air next to Ron and they tried a few different drills until they found one they liked. After only a few rounds through the drill, Ron had trouble remembering which had already had their turn and which hadn't.

"Harry, see if Hermione will take notes for us. This is impossible," he called out. "I guess everyone thinks they could do as well as our current Beaters."

Harry flew over and found Hermione sitting next to her bag. "Hermione, could you keep track of the drills? We're a bit swamped."

Hermione rummaged for some parchment and a quill. As she slid out a long black quill, she turned back to Harry. "I can try, but I don't know all of their names, and I'm not getting on a broom to do it."

"Make Ginny help you," Harry responded.

Hermione paused and frowned. "Er... Ginny's not here, Harry."

"She's what?" Harry asked without thinking. Before Hermione replied, he was already scanning the stands and pitch for a bloom of coppery red that would reveal her location.

"Ginny's not here. I don't know where she is. Spending time with her friends, I'd hope."

Something felt wrong. Harry closed his eyes and focused all the fear, anger, and sadness over the past weeks into trying to sense Voldemort. At first there was nothing, and then suddenly he saw the dim outline of dozens of trees and the dull flash of sunlight off water.

The lake. There would be loads of students around the lake.

"Harry!" Hermione cried. "What is it? Is she in danger?" Without replying, Harry spun his broom around and sped off toward Ron.

"RON!" he shouted as he got closer to him. "We have to find Ginny!"

"Relax, Harry," Ron said in a calm voice. "Ginny's fine. She's with a friend."

"A friend?" Harry replied skeptically. "Her friends haven't talked to her in weeks. They're all here, anyways. Where did she go?"

"She's fine, Harry. Let's just get back to the tryouts."

"She's not fine!" Harry shouted. "Where is she?"

"She's with Neville, alright?" Ron hissed back at him. The students there for the tryouts were all staring at them. "Neville came back this morning, maybe just for a little while and he asked if I could convince her to talk with him."

Harry felt an irrational fury rising inside him. "You— You convinced her to go with Neville? What were you thinking?" he shouted at Ron. "Even if it isn't a Death Eater in disguise, it's about as big a target as you could have made!"

"Calm down, Harry," Ron replied. "She'll be fine. She's not your girlfriend anymore. She can walk around with whatever bloke she wants."

"You don't know what happened between us," Harry yelled, "so don't pretend that you have any idea what she wants! Where are they?"

"I don't think it's any of your—"

"WHERE ARE THEY?" Harry shouted as he flew over to Ron and nearly pulled him from his broom. He pulled Ron's face close to his, and dropped his voice to a low growl. "Tell me where they are, or you may not have any sister to idiotically protect."

Ron's face was set, but there was a slight twitch of fear in his eyes. He stared back at Harry before finally answering. "They were just going to walk around the lake."

_The lake._

Harry's blood froze and his heart started beating hard enough to make him feel short of breath. They'd come back for Ginny. Voldemort knew he still cared for her. There would be no end to the amount of pain he could cause through her.

Harry pushed Ron away, and turned his broom toward the lake. He looked back over his shoulder at his friend, and barked orders at him. "Tell this lot to clear out. All of them. They're all to go back to the castle. Tell the first Auror you see that there are Death Eaters on the grounds." Harry only saw the fear on Ron's face for an instant before he shot off in search of Ginny.

He saw the clumps of students staring up at him as he sailed over the edge of the lake, searching for Ginny and Neville, if it even was Neville.

Finally he spotted what he was looking for. Ginny and Neville were standing near a large boulder on the side of the lake opposite the castle. Harry turned his broom toward the ground and made a rough landing on the rocky ground some distance from them. To his surprise, neither of them had noticed him as he landed or ran toward them. As Harry got closer, he realized why. They were shouting at each other.

"It's all I've got left!" Ginny shouted at Neville. "It's all any of us have! Where else should I be?"

"Anywhere else! You don't have to stay here, Ginny. You'll never be safe as long as he's here."

"No place in the world is safe for me anymore, Neville!" Ginny shouted back. "If he fails, there's no hope for me. If he fails, I wouldn't even want—"

"I'll keep you safe," Neville interrupted. "I'll protect you with my own life if I have to."

"And that's exactly what it would cost you," Ginny replied. "If you were lucky, he'd kill you before he turned to me, but he'd probably make you watch, just so you understood how completely pointless your sacrifice was."

"And he can do better?"

"He'll have to," Ginny answered. Before she could continue, a flash of color joined the afternoon sun and made the three of them look up. Red sparks were arcing into the air from two different points along the edge of the lake. Ginny and Neville immediately looked around, and spotted Harry.

"Harry!" Ginny called out. "Harry, what's happening?"

"Death Eaters," he answered. "They're on the grounds."

Neville stared back at him. "Death Eaters? Here?" Harry gave him a quick nod. Neville grabbed Ginny's arm and started walking her toward the castle.

"No," she said as she jerked her arm away from Neville. "I'm not going."

"You can't stay here," Harry told her. "They're not far from here, and they're probably headed this way."

"I'm not leaving," Ginny repeated as she stared at Harry. She was unnaturally calm, and even had a faint smile on her face. "I was wrong to be afraid. I didn't understand."

"Go back to the castle," Harry ordered, but she stood her ground.

"I won't go," she replied in a relaxed voice. "What are you going to do, Harry?" His heart was still pounding and he could almost feel the Death Eaters closing in on them. He held out his broom to Ginny, but she ignored him and just stared back. Faint crackling prompted all of them to look to the sky and see red sparks flying into the air from three more locations.

"They're coming, Harry," she warned. "—Stay here, Neville!" she shouted with genuine concern. He had started to walk off, but froze upon hearing Ginny's command. "If you leave, I don't know what will happen. Your best chance is to stay right here."

"We have to go," Harry pleaded. "I can keep you both safe, but we have to go _now_."

Ginny turned to look into the trees. The sounds of rustling branches and boots on soft ground drifted toward them. Whoever it was, they were headed toward them, and quickly. Ginny was still staring at Harry. "They're almost here, Harry. You've got to do something." For the first time, there seemed to be a hint of fear in her voice.

Harry scowled at her, then turned toward the trees and pulled his wand out of his pocket.

With a crash, a dark robed wizard burst through the last wall of underbrush and ran toward them. Harry aimed his wand, but dropped it as he recognized the wizard. It was an Auror, and he had been running as quickly as he could. He stopped and took a few deep breaths.

"It's Potter!" he shouted louder than Harry had thought possible. "Potter's here! The Weasley girl is here too, and the Longbottom boy."

Another Auror came running up behind the first, breathing even heavier. "Had to be the far side of the lake, didn't it?" he panted, "When I was young, we met girls behind the greenhouses." As they caught their breath and searched the area, another pair of Aurors came jogging out of the woods.

"So where are they, Potter?" they asked after looking about.

"I don't know," Harry replied. "I just know they weren't far from the lake."

"Well, we're sending all the students back to the castle. If this is for nothing, I can't imagine you'll make many friends."

"I'll find some way to deal—" Harry cut himself short as his chest hitched and his eyes shut tightly against a stabbing pain from his scar. He felt dizzy, and the world around him dipped and wobbled before tipping onto its side.

Instead of the lake, he saw a path winding through green grass. It was the path to the castle. Harry felt his heart skip as he recognized a person standing on it. Ron had his wand out and a fierce scowl on his face. Behind him a group of younger students were running away down the path.

"Whatever you want, you won't get it!" Ron shouted. To Harry it sounded distant, but he knew that wherever Ron was, at least one Death Eater was near.

"HARRY!"

Someone was shaking him, and slowly the lake returned to him. He scrambled to his feet, stumbling and then regaining his balance. His knees were ripped and bloody, but he wouldn't be needing them. He leapt onto his Firebolt and sped off toward the castle.

He found the path, and dropped down to fly low over it. They couldn't be far from it, and Ron wouldn't have ran while other students were around.

Then he saw them, like some sick nightmare come true. Ron on his knees but climbing back onto his feet. The Death Eater seemed to be walking toward him still. Harry landed and started sprinting toward them.

There was a quick flash of light, and suddenly Ron toppled to the ground and cried out in pain. The Death Eater stooped over Ron for a moment as if he was telling him something. He jabbed his wand into Ron's chest.

"Get away from him!" Harry shouted as he pulled his wand. The Death Eater turned to look at him, and an instant later, a second flash of bluish light came from Ron's chest. Harry stopped short and raised his wand.

"_Stupefy!_"

The target, however, was no longer there. And Harry shouted in frustration as he looked around in vain. They had Portkeyed off the grounds again. Harry turned his wand to the sky instead and shot a huge fountain of red sparks into the air.

He raced forward to where Ron lay motionless reassuring himself that the flash had been blue and not green. As he kneeled by Ron, his friend looked up into his eyes.

"My leg... broken... and then... chest..." he mumbled more that Harry couldn't make out, and his eyes started to roll about wildly. "Have to... Harry..." Ron focused for a moment, and reached for Harry's robes. "Watch Hermione..." he whispered. "Keep her... safe." Ron's eyes slid back and closed limply.

* * *

Harry, Ginny and Hermione waited impatiently outside the Hospital Wing waiting for any news on Ron's condition. By the time the Aurors arrived, Ron was beyond unconscious. They floated him back to Hogwarts as quickly as they could run, with Harry trailing behind them. Hermione and Ginny didn't arrive until well after they had sealed the Hospital Wing. 

They both had showered him with questions, most of which he had no answers to. After only a short time, Hermione had walked away and to sit silently against the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest. Ginny had kept asking him questions until he'd had enough.

"I—Don't—Know," he shouted back at her. "We wouldn't even be here if you'd have come with me when I told you to."

"It doesn't matter," Ginny replied.

"It doesn't matter? It doesn't matter that your brother is in the Hospital Wing lying almost lifeless despite everything that Pomfrey and Dumbledore have tried?"

"No," Ginny said plainly. "It doesn't. It was going to happen anyway. He's just a diversion."

"How... How can you say that?"

Ginny stared back at him with a flicker of anger in her eyes. "I can say it because it's the truth. You're still trying to run away from everything and protect everyone."

"What should I do, then?"

"Fight," Ginny shot back at him. "You have to fight back."

"I can't fight him. He's too strong."

"How could you know? You've never tried," Ginny replied.

"I _have_ tried. He's always had the advantage. He's always been smarter, faster, stronger than I am. The only reason I'm still alive is because I ran."

Ginny didn't reply and simply stood by the door, staring sullenly at Harry. He took to pacing to avoid her glare, but she never broke eye contact with him, and whenever he checked, he always saw the same look in her eyes.

Dumbledore eventually came out to speak with them. Ron was apparently going to be alright, though they didn't know how long he would be unconscious. The headmaster said that the curse he'd been hit with seemed to be similar to an ancient form of the Stunner they'd practiced in Defense Against the Dark Arts. They had no idea how long it would last, but he didn't think it would be more than a few weeks.

In the meantime, Dumbledore had arranged for Harry and Hermione to work on their classes outside the classrooms. It would allow them to spend more time by Ron's side. Snape had refused, so Dumbledore had arranged for them to work with Madam Pomfrey preparing the potions she needed for the Hospital Wing.

Ginny was another situation, though. She had the O.W.L.s to prepare for, and no amount of reading and practice would be enough. She still had to attend her classes, but she could visit Ron whenever she had time and Madam Pomfrey did not explicitly forbid it. This last bit of news seemed to annoy Ginny even more. Pomfrey hadn't forgotten being stunned by her, and Ginny didn't think it likely that she would ever be terribly welcome in the Hospital Wing.

* * *

Harry spent most of the next two days sitting in a chair next to Ron's bed. Madam Pomfrey didn't seem terribly pleased to have him there, but she didn't make him feel unwelcome. She was a little more friendly toward Hermione, though it could have been partly due to Hermione's quiet, almost mournful attitude. 

It wasn't as if Ron was even aware that either of them were there. As Pomfrey explained, his condition was little different than Hermione's after she'd been petrified by the Basilisk. Of course, they had already tried Mandrakes, as well as a dozen other types of potions, but nothing had revived him. Madam Pomfrey was confident that he would wake up, but she had no idea how long it would take.

Until then, Harry was certain that Ron would be safer if he kept watch over him. And then there was Hermione. Ron had been worried about her, and since Hermione spent most of her time at Ron's side, it was easy to protect them both.

They worked on their classes together, using one of the side offices for practicing Charms and Transfiguration work. Madam Pomfrey helped them with Potions and Herbology, glad for the extra help in replenishing all of the potions she'd gone through that year. Outside of their studies, Hermione barely said anything, and spent most of her time either reading or simply staring at Ron.

On the third day, however, Hermione didn't show up after breakfast. Harry paced impatiently for almost an hour before he finally got up the nerve to leave. Ron would be alright for a short time. Madam Pomfrey was still there, and three were still a number of Aurors in the corridors. He'd barely left the Wing before he ran into Ginny.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Herbology?" he asked her.

"I had a bit of an accident with a Stinging Fern," Ginny replied calmly as she held up her hand. There was a pattern of small red dots across her palm and wrist. "I was hoping one of you could get me the antidote. Sprout didn't have any."

Harry ducked back into the Hospital Wing and fetched the potion Ginny needed, along with a clean cloth to apply it. Ginny thanked him, and went about dabbing the potion across her palm, wincing only slightly. "Where were you going?" she asked him as she finished.

"Why do you care? I thought Ron didn't matter," he shot back at her, remembering their last argument. Ginny sighed and stared at the floor, making Harry felt slightly guilty for snapping at her. "I was going to look for Hermione. Ron asked me to keep an eye on her and she didn't show up this morning."

"Of course she didn't, she went to Transfiguration this morning," she said. Her voice was laced with unexplained annoyance. "She said she needed some time away from the Hospital Wing."

"How much time?" Harry asked immediately. If she wasn't going to be in the Hospital Wing it was going to get rather difficult to watch over her and Ron. Ginny returned an odd smile. "Oh, don't worry, she'll be back today," she answered. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Harry found something else to talk about.

"Is there a D.A. Council meeting?"

"A Council meeting? Why?"

"I didn't show up to breakfast."

Ginny's eyes narrowed and she leaned closer to Harry. "I don't think the Council much cares what you do anymore, Harry," she whispered. "To be honest, I don't know if the D.A. even exists anymore. Congratulations."

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

"Yeah, I'd say so," she said with a nod. "I think you telling them all that they should turn and run from anything that looks dangerous pretty much did it. A great strategy, by the way," she added bitterly. "If only Ron were _awake_ so he could run away."

"I was trying to teach them how to live to fight another battle."

"No!" Ginny said as she jabbed her finger into his chest. "You were trying to teach them to live to _run from_ another battle."

Harry had no more energy to fight Ginny that morning. Without another word, he turned and walked back into the Hospital Wing. Ginny shouted for him to stop, but he ignored her. Pomfrey stopped her at the door and forced her to return to Herbology. Harry saw her scowl at him before she turned to leave.

Just as she'd said, Hermione returned later than morning. They worked on Charms for a while, then helped Pomfrey brew more Pepper-Up Potion. When they were finished, they took their seats near Ron's bed. This time, Hermione didn't have a book to read.

Instead, she asked Harry about the attack again. He told her everything he could remember, without leaving out Ron's request this time. It seemed to actually cheer her up a bit and for the first time since Ron was attacked, Hermione was talking to him.

She didn't blame him for what happened to Ron, or for leaving to find Ginny and leaving Ron behind. She was worried about both Ron and him, and worried about what might happen next. To Harry it felt somewhat reassuring that he wasn't alone. It felt good to simply sit and talk with Hermione again.

The next few days passed slightly faster. Hermione would often go to one of her classes each day, but she would always come to the Hospital Wing for at least some time in the morning, come back right after lunch, and return after supper to talk with Harry until she returned to the tower to sleep.

Harry stayed in the Hospital Wing and slept in a bed next to Ron. Madam Pomfrey knew about it and after the first night had taken the time to set it up with a pillow, fresh sheets and a glass of water each night.

He'd almost come to enjoy his time there. Pomfrey never truly got comfortable with him being there, but she at least respected him and honored her agreement with Dumbledore. Hermione was quickly returning to normal, or as close as she could get with Ron lying in a hospital bed. Harry had spent so much time with Ron and Ginny, that he'd forgotten how much he could enjoy time with Hermione. When she wasn't trying to force him to read some book, or research some problem, she was quite pleasant to have around.

He could see why Ron liked her.

Thursday, when they both returned to the Hospital Wing after a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Hermione seemed much more quiet and uncomfortable than she had been in a few days. After a bit of prodding and encouragement, Harry was finally able to get her to talk to him about what was troubling her.

"What really happened between you and Ginny?"

Harry looked away. "We had a disagreement."

"Ron and I have had loads of disagreements. I haven't seen you and Ginny do anything but argue for over two weeks." She paused, no doubt hoping that Harry would say something about it. When he didn't she finished her question: "Why did you leave her?"

Harry's eyes darted to where Hermione was sitting and his whole body tensed. "I didn't," he answered simply.

Hermione stared back at him in confusion. "But— That doesn't... What about the dinner after... well, you know... When she first yelled at you."

"I told the truth," Harry said in a low voice. "I used that spell to torture her, and then she said that we shouldn't be together."

His answer seemed to confuse Hermione even more. "But why..." Hermione stopped herself and looked at Harry oddly. "Have you tried talking to her about it?"

"Of course. Why do you think she stopped coming by to ask about Ron? I think yesterday was the first day this week that she didn't snap at me about something, and that's only because we didn't say anything to each other."

"Maybe you should try again?" Harry gave her a skeptical look. "Really, Harry, you should. She doesn't hate you, I swear. She's just scared. Come to dinner with me. She won't shout at you in the Great Hall." Harry frowned and reluctantly agreed. Hermione left a short time later, saying she had to run to the Library and that she'd come back before dinner.

* * *

Harry walked into the Great Hall behind Hermione. Many of the other students noticed him, but they politely kept whatever rumors they were creating quiet enough that he didn't have to hear them. 

Ginny was sitting in the middle of the Gryffindor table, but the only people around her were the Creevey brothers and a pair of fourth years. Harry felt an odd tightness in his chest. He was beginning to have doubts about this plan of Hermione's. Whatever she was hoping for, Harry was certain it wouldn't happen. He tried to hide his apprehension as he sat down next to Hermione on the bench across from Ginny.

"Good evening, Hermione," she said without looking up from her food. "I see you've pulled Potter from his post. Is it some special occasion, or did you trick him into thinking there was some good reason for him to come out of his hole?"

"I thought it would be good for him to spend some time with his friends," Hermione answered quietly.

"Of course you did. You're so caring," Ginny replied. There was something odd in her voice. Something that Harry couldn't quite recognize. "So how about it, Potter? How safe is my brother today?"

Harry sighed and looked at her. "I don't want to fight."

"Of course you don't," Ginny laughed bitterly. "You're too busy gossiping." She paused to take a drink. "I didn't figure you'd want to fight. I figure you're more likely to run back to the Hospital Wing and hide. You'd rather wait there for Tom to come and get you." She ripped a roll in half and started spreading butter on one piece. "Don't worry, Harry," she said softly, "he'll come eventually."

Harry pushed his empty plate away, and turned to glare at Hermione. This had been her idea. She hadn't thought that Ginny would fight with him here, but she'd been wrong. Hermione looked both apologetic and horribly shocked at Ginny's behavior.

But Ginny didn't stop. "Would you fight, then? Would you fight for us? You fought for Snuffles."

"And he died," Harry growled.

"That's right, Harry. He died fighting!" Ginny snapped. The Creevey brothers were now staring at her in shock, as well. Other Gryffindors were listening in, probably only confusing themselves with what they heard.

Harry turned to Hermione. "Just scared, right?" he mumbled. She just gave him an apologetic look.

"What was that?" Ginny asked. Harry looked back at her and recognized her expression. It wasn't a good sign. The only good thing about it was that she wasn't glaring at Harry, but at Hermione.

"I see," she said with a nod. "Just a coincidence that Harry showed up tonight, is it? Maybe you forgot just who's lying in that bed? I guess the days have been long, haven't they Hermione? Seems the two of you have been sharing quite a few secrets. Anything else? No inside jokes, or clever anecdotes about my childhood you want to share? No?"

Ginny slammed her cup down on the table splashing juice over her plate. She abruptly stood up and strode out of the Hall. Leaving everyone sitting at the table in silent confusion and shock.

"Well," Harry said slowly. "That went about as well as I expected." He wasn't hungry anymore, and after waiting a moment to make sure Ginny was gone, he got up and returned to the Hospital Wing. Some time later, Hermione showed up, just long enough to speak with Madam Pomfrey about Ron. There hadn't been any real changes, and Harry thought she was doing it as an excuse to check on him.

"Pomfrey said she thinks she might have found a potion that will help," she told him as he read over various Charms used to control fire.

"That's absolutely spectacular," he replied without a trace of emotion.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I... I didn't— I didn't understand, I guess."

"It's alright."

"I'm worried about her. There's something different about her."

"Right. I think I noticed that. It's her hair isn't it? It's a bit shorter I think."

"She's not acting like herself."

"Oh, right. That. I guess I hadn't noticed."

Hermione stood quietly for a moment. Harry just continued to pretend he was reading his book. He didn't want to talk about it now. He didn't know what Ginny wanted him to do. He couldn't fight what wasn't there, and he couldn't just stand by while Voldemort attacked all of his friends.

"Goodnight, Harry."

Harry looked up from his book. Hermione looked better than she had in a while. She wasn't nearly as depressed as she had been earlier that week. She was more confident, more outgoing. More like the Hermione he was used to. If Ron would only wake up, everything might be okay. It was the only thing he had to hope for at the moment, but it felt comforting.

"Goodnight, Hermione."

Hermione came in to visit the next morning. With some help from Harry and Hermione, Madam Pomfrey finished making the potion she'd found and they'd carefully given it to Ron, making sure not to choke him with it. Harry spent the rest of the morning sitting next to Hermione at Ron's side, waiting to see if it would work. Pomfrey had said they should see some improvement within a couple hours, but after three hours, Ron hadn't so much as twitched an eyelid.

That afternoon, when Harry walked into the Hospital Wing, he didn't find Hermione sitting by Ron's bed. Ron was laying in just the same position he had been that morning, but something about him looked slightly different. He couldn't make out just what it was, but there was something. However, it had been six hours since Ron had been given the potion, and the only improvement was so subtle that he could barely convince himself that anything had changed. It was clear the potion wasn't working as well as Pomfrey had hoped. It was probably best that Hermione not be there. It would only make her dwell on whatever disappointment she felt.

Harry, however, didn't see much point in not being here. His best friend was still here. Hermione had been better over these last few days, but she wasn't really going to join in any games of Exploding Snap. And he could barely say two words to Ginny without starting an argument. He was, essentially, without a friend to talk to.

So he sat and waited for Ron to wake up. As the room darkened, Madam Pomfrey came around to light the candles for Harry to read by. She gave him a weak smile as she silently waved her wand over Ron yet again. When she left, Harry tried to read some of his Charms text, but his eyes kept returning to Ron's face, hoping to see some sign of life.

As Harry sat and waited, he heard the door to the cavernous room creak open and then shut with the dull sound of wood on stone. Light, sharp footsteps echoed off the ceiling as they approached. They weren't the footsteps of Dumbledore or Madam Pomfrey. Harry frowned. It must be Hermione coming to check on Ron. She stopped nearby and simply stood there, watching Ron and Harry.

"You haven't eaten."

Harry's eyes darted toward the source of the voice. Ginny. He should have known she'd come. Of course she'd have noticed he hadn't been at dinner. Harry quickly looked down at his book, pretending he knew exactly where he'd left off.

"Ginny... I— I don't want to argue with you. Some other time, just—"

"I'm not here to argue. I'm well shut of it." Her voice was even and almost empty-sounding.

"Why _are_ you here?"

"I told you: You haven't eaten."

"I'm not hungry."

"You're lying." She was right, mostly. He was past the point of hunger. His stomach had seemingly given up on the idea of getting food that night.

"Quit that," Harry replied, looking up at her. "It's creepy."

"Right, and you using magic without a wand is perfectly normal."

Harry thought it really wasn't the same thing, but wasn't in the mood to argue with her.

"You came down here to tell me that I'm hungry?"

"No, I came down here to feed you." Ginny took a small basket from her pocket and with a swish of her wand it grew to a normal size. She handed it to Harry. "Dobby was upset that there wasn't any more room. If you like, I'll run back and get you more. I'm sure Dobby won't mind."

"I'm sure this will be plenty."

"Would you like company?"

"Not as much as Hermione probably would."

"Hermione was the one who sent me."

Harry looked up at her, and saw a small smile. What was Ginny trying to do? How long would it last? Was it worth the impending fight? With a sigh, he smiled back. He couldn't turn away anyone who was willing to be friendly with him. Harry reached out toward a nearby chair. It slid toward him, skidding to a halt in front of Ginny.

She stared at the chair warily. "You don't think that's even a little creepy?"

Harry felt the corners of his mouth twitch. "Well... maybe."

"Bloody useful, though," Ginny said as she sat down in the chair. "Ever use it to toy with Snape?"

"That'd be a bit childish of me, wouldn't it?" Harry said as he fetched a sandwich from the basket.

"You're right," Ginny said as she grabbed an apple for herself and set the basket on the ground. "Did he find out it was you?"

"Never had a clue. He thinks one of his ingredient racks is haunted now. The one in the back corner with the silver handles. Never uses it."

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Well, people wanted more Ron, so they got some more Ron. Granted, he's not very talkative, but he's got a front row seat (or bed, at least). And Ginny, well, she can be a bit harsh. There are some rather hurtful things she says here, but it's leading somewhere, even if I've purposefully left out all the hints which might explain where.

The next chapter is the famous 'Falling', which originally contained what is now Chapter 45 and 46. It was around 83kb, so I split it to create an even 50 chapters.

For all of you who have been a bit confused about Ginny's actions, you _should_ be confused (Harry is), and your questions _should_ be answered there. Granted, you may not like the answers, but they seemed valid to me, and no one complained six months ago when I wrote it, so now you're stuck with it.

And for those of you who've been convinced that Hermione has been under the Imperius Curse from the start, you're sadly wrong. Other than the D.A. lesson, no one has been under the Imperius Curse. I'm sorry I didn't squash that earlier. I didn't realize it would live so long.

'Falling' is perhaps the most important chapter so far as the theme of the book goes. After reading it, you may want to go back and read the first chapter and see if it might have any different meaning to you. Or you can just review (or even just email me) with complaints about how it still doesn't make sense.

The still unnamed Chapter 46 with the teaser designed to turn everyone against me is still unnamed. I'll see what I can do about that. For now, a teaser for Chapter 46:

* * *

"You're certain we shouldn't at least throw a Full-Body Bind on that chair? You know, 'Constant vigilance' and all?" Ginny's impression of Moody was impressive.

"Er... I think I'll risk it, thanks," Harry replied with a glare. Ginny just stared back.

"No need to feel all awkward, Harry," Ginny said as she fought back a smile. "It is a very threatening looking chair. The other chairs have said that it just wasn't raised properly, and unless I'm mistaken, I do believe it was trying to seduce me earlier this morning. Maybe a quick Stunner will make it show some respect."

"Are you done?" Harry asked as he sat down. "Any more jokes about my eyesight?" Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment, then opened her mouth to speak.

* * *

See. I can give out teasers which don't make people upset. This one is just fun. Enjoy the next chapter.  



	45. Falling

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 45 - Falling**

* * *

Harry's eyes were closed, but he could see the sunlight shining through his eyelids. It must be morning. His back and neck were terribly stiff. And he was cold. Where was he? 

Harry sat up violently as he pulled out his wand. His eyes darted around the bright room, straining to make out his surroundings. There was a dark shape looming over him. Harry held his wand between himself and whatever the shape was.

"Hold on there, killer," a soft voice said from his right. "Why don't' you put these on? Then you can really hex the bloody hell out of that chair."

A pair of soft hands placed his glasses on his face. In front of him was the large chair he'd been sitting in last night. It still had his robes draped over it.

With some amount of embarrassment, Harry pocketed his wand. He was sitting on the floor between Ron's bed, and the bed Ginny was sitting on. His clothes were wrinkled and his back really was sore.

"Right, then," Harry said as he stood up and put his arms through his robes.

"You're certain we shouldn't at least throw a Full-Body Bind on that chair? You know, 'Constant vigilance' and all?" Ginny's impression of Moody was impressive.

"Er... I think I'll risk it, thanks," Harry replied with a glare. Ginny just stared back.

"No need to feel all awkward, Harry," Ginny said as she fought back a smile. "It is a very threatening looking chair. The other chairs have said that it just wasn't raised properly, and unless I'm mistaken, I do believe it was trying to seduce me earlier this morning. Maybe a quick Stunner will make it show some respect."

"Are you done?" Harry asked as he sat down. "Any more jokes about my eyesight?" Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment, then opened her mouth to speak. "On second thought, just save them," Harry interrupted. He was certain she probably did hear quite a few more jokes than he did.

Harry tried to tame his hair, but it was beyond its normal state of messiness. "My back is killing me. Why did I have to fall asleep on the floor?"

"Because you _wanted_ to," Ginny said with a smile. Harry gave her a puzzled look. "You fell asleep in the chair while talking to me. Pomfrey only made up one bed, and when I told you to take it, you refused and said I should. When I offered to share it, you turned red and mumbled something about my brother. So you took a pillow and fell asleep on the floor a minute later."

"Oh. Right," Harry said as the memories of the previous night came back to him. He felt a slight blush in his face again with the memory of Ginny asking him to sleep next to her. Why had she done that? It had been her decision that they not be together any more. She was the one who'd gone walking with Neville. And then she did that. Harry shook his head. He'd never understand girls.

"Did you want breakfast?" Ginny asked. Harry shrugged. He'd be hungrier if Ron were doing better. When he looked at Ron's bed, though, his thoughts skipped. Something was different.

"He moved," Ginny announced, confirming Harry's suspicions.

Harry looked at Ginny, then back at Ron. She was right. He really had moved. He wasn't in the same position he'd been in since he fell unconscious the day they brought him in. He looked almost normal, as if he were simply asleep.

"He isn't... He didn't wake up, did he?"

"No," Ginny said with a slight frown. "He just moved. Pomfrey says its a good sign though. He's apparently coming out of it. She said he should be awake sometime tonight or tomorrow morning, but we're not allowed to be here if that happens."

"Why not?"

"Pomfrey thinks we're troublemakers," Ginny said with a faint scowl. "Well, she knows I'm a troublemaker, and she doesn't think you're much better."

"Maybe she's right," Harry said with a shrug. "He might be safer if we weren't around." Ginny seemed to be studying her unconscious brother.

"He wasn't marked, was he?" she said, sounding a little surprised.

"No."

"I'd never thought to check," she mumbled. She turned back to Harry. "They won't attack anyone else until he is?"

"I think they do whatever they want," Harry said bitterly, "but yeah, I think that's how it'll work. It's like it's part of some game, except no one tells me when it's time to play and I never get to win."

"But... You stopped them," Ginny replied in confusion.

Harry stared at the floor. "I haven't stopped Voldemort or the Death Eaters from doing anything since last year," he said with audible bitterness. "They've manipulated me, and I've tripped over every obstacle they laid out. I can't help but think they wanted this to happen."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Harry replied. "Maybe they needed him to be in some specific location. Maybe this isn't about Ron at all, and was an attempt to scare Hermione. Or maybe they needed to separate her from him. I just don't know. The sooner everything gets back to normal the better. I don't think that will happen, though."

Ginny looked alarmed. "What do you mean, Harry? Did you ... see something?"

"No," Harry answered. He'd wished he had. If something horrible were coming, he'd prefer to at least know to be prepared for it. "It just makes sense, doesn't it? Some Death Eater did this for a purpose. If everything returns to normal, then what was that purpose?"

"So whatever it is, it's going to happen pretty soon."

"Yeah, it looks that way."

"It's not going to stop, is it?"

"No."

Harry and Ginny sat silently for a while. It was long enough that Harry lost track of just how long it had been. He was looking at the floor, but he could feel Ginny looking at him. He was afraid to turn and see her face. He didn't know what he was afraid of seeing, but he knew that he'd rather not find out.

"We should tell Hermione about Ron's improvement," said Harry, finally breaking the silence.

"I already told her."

"You— When did you leave?"

"I didn't," Ginny said calmly as she moved the book she'd been reading back to her bag. "I sent a message with Pigwidgeon. I thought he'd wake you up for certain."

Harry sat silently staring at Ron. His chest was rising and falling rhythmically. He was breathing normally, and looked relaxed and peaceful. Harry turned away to look at Ginny instead. She calmly looked back at him.

"You've been here all night?"

"Yes."

Harry sat back and stared at the ceiling. She'd been watching him for a few weeks now. Maybe this the only way she could keep an eye on him. But wouldn't everyone else think they were friends again? Were they friends again?

"Whatever happened to the idea of staying away from me for my own protection?" he asked in a steady voice. He wasn't sure if he should sound angry or hopeful.

"It was a stupid idea."

Ginny's voice had been equally steady. She'd said it as casually as she might have told him what book she'd been reading. Harry struggled to understand what she'd meant.

"What part of it was stupid? Staying away from me, or doing it for my protection."

"Both," Ginny answered with finality. "I've had a quite a few painfully stupid ideas lately."

"Like that demonstration at the D.A. meeting?"

"No," Ginny said firmly. "No, I think that's been one of the few _good_ ideas I've had for a while."

Harry turned to look at her, but she was staring down at her hands. He strained to see what it was in her hands, and was surprised to catch the distinctive glint of one of the Obscuring Orbs.

"You know, your dad said those weren't reliable for more than a few months."

"I know," Ginny said with a faint smile. "I don't use it. It's just nice to have around. It's... comforting, you know? A souvenir of happier times."

"Yeah, I know." Those had been happier times. Harry hadn't imagined that he'd ever think that, but it was true.

"I felt so in control then," Ginny continued. Her voice sounded almost as if she were about to cry, but her face was an emotionless mask. "I did what felt right, and things always turned out okay. But somewhere along the way, I got confused, and I forgot things I had been certain of."

"Things change," Harry replied, "and there's nothing we can do to change them back."

"Isn't there?" Ginny asked weakly. "This summer, I made a promise that I wouldn't let you face this alone."

"Right, then things changed," Harry said, desperately trying to control his anger, "and you didn't even want to be my friend."

"I— What?" Ginny said as she jumped off the bed. Harry could see a flicker of anger in her eyes. He shouldn't have said that. Last night had been almost pleasant. It seemed that they couldn't talk for any period of time without fighting.

"What in bloody hell made you think that?" Ginny shouted, not caring who might hear her. "Do you think I _wanted_ to stop being with you?"

"Well, having things thrown at my head does seem to suggest that." A second after he said it, Harry felt a sharp pain in his chest followed by something heavy falling into his lap. He looked down to find Ginny's Obscuring Orb.

"See!" Harry said holding it up for Ginny. "That usually only happens when someone doesn't like me!"

"No," Ginny growled, "that's what happens when you say something mind-achingly stupid!" Harry ducked as an apple flew over his head.

"Hey! Quit that!"

"What did you expect me to do? I had to sit there at that table and watch the one person I cared for more than anyone else feel miserable while everyone in the school was making up all sorts of reasons why we weren't sitting together. All I wanted to do was drag you away from all of it and make you remember what it was like to be happy. And then you go and tell half of Gryffindor house that I left you because you'd beaten me?"

"Well—"

"I love you, Harry!" Ginny shouted at him, making his jaw drop in shock. "I have for a long time. I can't stand the idea of losing you, but I gave that up, hoping that it might give you a chance to live through this. I hoped that without me holding you back, you'd be able to stop trying to protect everyone around you and fight. I sacrificed the only thing I had to give, but you didn't even care about that. You went and told everyone that I gave up on you because you're a horrible person! What should I have done?"

"I didn't... Why didn't you..."

"What? Tell you?" Ginny asked with a sharp laugh. "Right, that would have made it easier. Did you think it's easy for me to just stand by and watch you give up? I gave up the best thing I had in my life to give you a chance, and you're just throwing it away."

Harry listened silently, unable to think of anything to say. Ginny continued talking, ignoring the confused look on his face.

"I can... feel how you feel sometimes. When you're thinking about... about Tom. When we saw you after Ron was attacked..."

Ginny didn't need to say it. Harry remembered how he felt. He'd often wondered during the late nights he spent next to Ron what he might have done if the Aurors hadn't shown up immediately. If Ron would've been dead, there would have been nothing to stop him from hunting down the Death Eaters. He already had his broom, his wand, and a nice set of robes for flying. The thought was still with him as he waited outside the Hospital Wing to hear how Ron was, and Ginny had felt it.

"...I realized my mistake. I felt so horrible. So ashamed. I felt like such a coward. I did exactly what Tom wanted. I could hear his voice in my head, telling me how I'd behaved just as he'd expected a silly little girl to act, but it was too late to fix it." Ginny's head dropped. Harry watched as a single tear dropped to the floor.

"I begged her to keep you company. I didn't want you to be alone for a second, but I knew I couldn't do it. I'd wait for her every night, and each night she'd walk back into the common room, looking comforted, and happier than when she'd left. I used to feel like that, too. I thought... I accused her of..." Ginny's voice broke and she took a deep breath.

"I've made so many stupid mistakes. I said something I— I wasn't thinking. She got very angry and refused to help me anymore." Ginny stared into Harry's eyes. "I made a promise. I won't let you do this alone."

"I can't keep you safe, Ginny," Harry said quietly. "Voldemort won't stop. Not while I'm alive."

"And he won't stop if you're dead, either," Ginny said, finally showing a little more confidence. "If you fail, then we're all dead, Harry. He won't ignore me because I'm a Pure-blood. It'll be the same with Ron. And Neville. And you know what will happen to Hermione."

"You don't know what he's like," Harry replied. "He's too powerful. It's hopeless. We can't win."

"Then we'll fail together," Ginny said, as the corners of her mouth twitched. She walked over to Harry and kneeled in front of him. "If we can't succeed, then no one could have, and at least we _tried_." She stared into Harry's eyes, and he stared back. "He's afraid of what you can do, Harry. He's afraid of love. It's completely foreign to him. He can't see the power it gives people. He's trying to take that from you."

Harry sat silently looking into Ginny's face as she seemed to beg him to agree to whatever pact she was proposing. Was that what Voldemort had been doing? Was he trying to take away whatever power Harry had to defeat him? It was the first explanation that might have made sense.

"I don't see how it's possible to defeat him," Harry said as he kept his eyes on Ginny, but in his mind, every one of the bizarre conversations he'd had with Voldemort was flashing through his mind. Voldemort had the upper hand. He always had. "We've fallen into every trap, and made every mistake he could hope for. I don't see how to stop that. I don't know how to fight him."

Ginny's eyes seemed to flash briefly with excitement. "Neither do I. It seems foolish to even try. He's anticipated everything we've done." Harry didn't say anything in response. Ginny seemed to be waiting for him to say something, and finally Harry sat back in his chair with his arms crossed.

"You're wrong."

"About what?" Ginny asked curiously.

"It's not too late to fix it," Harry said in a clear voice. Ginny's eyes narrowed.

"Fix what?" she asked in a shaky voice.

He gently took her hand and placed her Obscuring Orb in it. A single tear traveled down Ginny's cheek, and along her jaw.

"This is probably a huge mistake," she said quietly.

"It might be the worst thing we can do."

"It's still hopeless," she added.

"Downright impossible. I don't even know how to start."

"It'll be a lot easier to keep secret this time..." Ginny said as Harry stood up and pulled her up with him.

"No," Harry said firmly. He looked intently into Ginny's eyes. "It won't be a secret. Not this time. It may not help at all. In fact, it's just as likely to make things worse, but I want Voldemort to be uncertain of _something_. Even if it's only for a moment, I want him to taste same doubt I've lived with for months."

Ginny slowly smiled and nodded with grim intensity. Without warning, she jumped forward and threw her arms around him. For a moment, Harry thought his spine had melted. The world didn't seem to matter as much as it had. It was as if they had leapt from the Astronomy Tower. There was no hope of survival, but at least they'd have each other on the way down.

Suddenly Harry found his lips pressing against Ginny's and the world dissolved away. Who cared what tomorrow brought? He couldn't stop the inevitable, so instead of running from it, he'd fly toward it. He felt the same heedless euphoria from Ginny. They were hurtling toward the ground, but that was tomorrow, and today they were together.

* * *

Harry and Ginny walked into the Great Hall side by side. Together, they strode the length of the Gryffindor table nonchalantly as pairs of heads bent toward each other around the other tables, eager to point out the two of them together and not arguing. 

There was similar behavior all along the Gryffindor table as the students whispered back and forth. Harry caught some of the questions and glances. They were wondering if they'd missed something, or if something much more serious had caused them to stop avoiding each other.

The day had seemed fairly normal to the rest of the students. Harry and Ginny had both been at their classes, and disappeared before dinner. Now they suddenly reappeared, together and looking as if they'd always been friends.

Some of the students were staring at them suspiciously, as if they must be hiding something from everyone. Some of them were suppressing laughs, some were staring in wonder and waiting for the fighting to begin and some seemed relieved to see them acting civilly toward each other. Colin was one of the first lot. Katie was one of the last. Hermione's reaction, however, was unique.

She'd stopped eating and was giving them the same look she gave Crookshanks when he would sit on her books and demand attention. As they got closer, her expression deteriorated to almost a scowl before she looked back to her food, stabbing at it violently with her fork without making any real commitment to eating it.

As Harry and Ginny sat down next to each other, the students around them tried to act as if they weren't paying close attention to what was going on, but they failed. Harry noticed a number of them turning one ear toward them, hoping to overhear whatever might be said.

It was a disappointing thing for all of them when no one seemed to say anything. Harry and Ginny both silently added food to their plates, while those immediately around them waited for some sign to tell them how they should react. Many of them looked to Hermione, but she had not taken her eyes off her plate, and was still poking purposelessly at her meal.

Katie stared at them with a confused smile on her face. She looked as if she were about to speak, but Harry finally broke the silence.

"Ginny," he said with a trace of annoyance. "You took the last of the chicken." A dozen faces turned to stare at Ginny, waiting to see if she'd snap back at him.

"Well, you've got two choices, Harry: starve or have some beef," she replied as she slid a platter toward him. Harry stared back at her for a moment, noticing a couple Gryffindors inching away from the two of them.

"Fine," Harry said dejectedly as he placed a pair of slices onto his plate, "but you have to pour me some pumpkin juice." Ginny smiled and reached for the nearby pitcher and Katie watched in awe as Ginny filled Harry's glass with juice before filling her own.

There was a sharp metallic clatter as Hermione's fork dropped to her plate. When Harry looked over at her, Hermione's lips were pursed and she was giving him a cold stare.

"What do you think the _two of you_ are doing?" she asked while barely moving her lips.

"Eating, I hope," Harry replied with a bewildered look. "I'm famished. I didn't really get much for breakfast or lunch."

"And you're— You're going to eat with— with _her_?"

"Yeah," Harry answered. He stared back at Hermione, trying to see if he could find some clue to explain why she was acting so oddly. "What's the problem—"

"What's the—" Hermione blurted out before catching herself. Her outburst caught the attention of many of the Gryffindors. She lowered her voice to a loud whisper. "After everything you said... Is this some kind of joke?"

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Katie asked. "I thought you'd be happy they weren't fighting anymore."

Hermione gave Katie a bitter smile. "Oh, I would be," she said with false cheer. "I would have loved that _weeks_ ago, but that's not everything is it? It's a bit more than just a truce, isn't it _Harry Potter_."

"Yes," Harry responded flatly.

Hermione stared at him in surprise. "You're not even going to try to hide it?"

"No. Not anymore."

"Of course not," Hermione added acidly. "I'm sure that wasn't her idea, was it?"

"What are you on about?" Ginny asked as she looked imploringly at her friend. Hermione's head snapped stare at her. Her eyes were wild with anger.

"How dare you... You know—"

Harry looked from Ginny to Hermione and back. "Does this have something to do with Ron?" As soon as he saw the look in Hermione's eyes, he knew he'd said something wrong. With a quickness he didn't know she had, Hermione had snatched his cup from the table and launched it at his head. Harry ducked, but it glanced off his temple, making his vision sparkle and splashing pumpkin juice over him and the Ravenclaws behind him.

"Bloody Hell, Hermione!" he shouted as he stared at his hand, trying to focus and figure out if he was bleeding. As soon as he could focus his eyes he saw Hermione already standing and tossing her bag over her shoulder.

"SOD OFF!" she shouted. "Both of you!"

Harry blinked and tried to clear his head as Hermione strode away from him, toward the door. He looked down to see Ginny watching her as well.

"Well, at least she didn't make a scene." Ginny said with a frown.

Harry grabbed his bag. "Come on," he told her and a moment later they were racing after Hermione.

"Hermione, stop!" Harry called out as she turned down another hallway. Ginny followed close after him as he ran after her. They turned the corner to find her standing right in front of them, fuming.

"I'm going to the Hospital Wing," she said through her teeth. "I hear that's out of bounds for you two, now."

This caught Harry off guard. Why wasn't he allowed to go back to the Hospital Wing? He'd spent all last night there, and Pomfrey didn't have any problem with it. Ginny had said they were free to stay there until...

"Hermione," Harry said in a pacifying voice, "is Ron awake?"

Hermione gave him the same bitter smile she'd shown before. "He woke up an hour ago. Pomfrey said she didn't know if she'd be letting him out tonight. Isn't it quite the coincidence that you got back together this afternoon?"

"What are you saying?" Harry asked.

"What happened to trying to protect your friends?" she snapped at Harry, then turned on Ginny. "What about not wanting to be used as a weapon against Harry?"

"We're not afraid anymore, Hermione," Ginny said as she stepped forward.

"Well, I'm terribly happy for you," Hermione snapped. "What about Ron? You _know_ what he'll think about the two of you being together again." Hermione paced in front of Harry and Ginny for a moment. Harry thought he could almost hear the thoughts going through Hermione's head. Finally, she stopped and stared at Harry.

"He wasn't marked, was he, Harry?"

Harry frowned and shook his head.

"Brilliant. So Pomfrey will let him out of the Hospital Wing just in time to discover that little Ginny has decided that she's in the mood to date Harry again this week. I'm sure he'll be _ecstatic_. I wonder what would happen next? He'll get hacked off at Harry and by the end of next week he'll have his mark and he'll be back in the Hospital Wing... _or worse_."

"We don't know that—" Ginny interjected.

Hermione walked right to Ginny's face. "Do you think the Death Eaters just wanted to break his leg and make him sleep for a week? What do you think they would have done if Harry hadn't come back?"

"I didn't stop them from doing anything," Harry tried to tell her. "There was plenty of time. They want us to think that he barely escaped. They wanted Ron in the Hospital Wing. They wanted him away from us. There has to be some reason for him to be there and I doubt he's going to leave without us figuring it out."

"You knew he was in danger," said Hermione in an accusing voice, "...and you still... how—" Hermione started backing away from both of them, shaking her head.

"It doesn't change anything, Hermione," Harry told her. "They'll be back for him sooner or later."

Hermione's eyes opened wide and stared at Harry. "You're giving up..."

"We're not giving up," Ginny said firmly.

"It's just like the D.A. meeting, is it?" Hermione said with a flicker of new anger in her eyes. "We'll fight while everyone around us falls. We'll just wait our turn until no one is left. Ron's next, is he?" Hermione was getting angry again, and she advanced on Harry. "You're just going to stand aside and let it happen?"

"I don't know to fight it!" Harry shouted, surprising all of them. "Do you? Have you found some book that tells me how I'm supposed to fix this?" Hermione looked too surprised to answer. Harry walked closer to her. "I don't know when it will happen. I don't know how it will happen, or even if it will happen to him at all. Every time I try to protect someone, I make it worse!"

"Oh, well then giving up must be the right answer," Hermione scoffed.

"What am I supposed to do, Hermione? Nothing works! I tried to warn Dean. I tried to keep Susan a secret. I tried to stop Neville, and I tried to protect Ginny. It didn't help any of them."

"Well then, I have a smashing idea. Why don't you run back to the Great Hall and start snogging Ron's sister in front of everyone. Maybe Voldemort will take notice and attack _her_ instead of Ron."

"What's gotten into you?" Ginny asked as she eyed Hermione.

"Nothing, I'm sure." Hermione said coldly. Her face was twisted in disgust as she stared at Ginny. "Go. Run off with Harry. You got what you wanted. I'm sure you'd be even happier if we were all so mindless as to run off an try to be attacked." Hermione turned and started walking toward the Hospital Wing. Harry and Ginny stood where they were, watching her walk away. When she reached the next corner, she stopped and turned around.

"I won't do it," she called back to them. "I'm going to fight, even if you two won't and even if you're the ones I have to fight."

* * *

Harry and Ginny watched silently as Hermione turned and walked off to the Hospital Wing. As the echoes of her footsteps faded, they turned to look at each other. Harry sighed and walked the other direction. He needed to think, and he needed someplace quiet to do it. The common room wouldn't work. All of the fifth-years were busy preparing for the O.W.L.s, taking breaks only to complain about about how much time they were spending preparing for them. There was one place that always worked, though. 

Ginny was right behind him, and followed him as if she'd already knew where he was headed. They walked purposefully and quietly toward the Hogwarts Library. As they neared the Library, Ginny veered off into the abandoned office, while Harry waited a moment to make sure no one had seen them. It sounded as if a number of students were busy with revision for the O.W.L.s in the library, but no one else was in sight. A moment later, he turned and disappeared into the office, silently closing the door behind him.

Ginny was sitting at the window seat, watching Harry walk toward her and looking noticeably uncomfortable. As Harry stopped before sitting next to her, he understood her reaction. He remembered the last time they'd both been here. That seemed like another life. Harry looked down at Ginny, and gave her a weak smile.

He raised his arm and a chair slid toward him, stopping just in front of him. Harry flopped down into the chair. Ginny seemed both relieved and a little sad. She slowly stretched her legs along the seat and stared out into the night.

Harry could barely handle everything that had happened that day. In just one day, he'd regained his relationship with Ginny, but seriously angered one of his closest friends. Ron had recovered, but now they knew that danger was near. Was that better? Harry felt the guilt poking at his stomach. He tried to convince himself that he really wouldn't prefer to have it back the way it was.

His head hurt. He leaned forward to rub his temples as he tried to find some way of working through everything. Something was going to happen, and soon. Ron was in danger. Or was he? What if it wasn't Ron. What if it was Hermione who was next? Was Ron just the tool Voldemort was using to separate him from Hermione?

Or was it Ginny? Was Voldemort just waiting for Ginny to get close to him again? Could he have something worse planned?

"They aren't here for me."

Ginny's voice tore him from his thoughts. When he looked up he saw her still staring out the window.

"They're out there, somewhere," she continued. "I don't know why I know it, but I do. And they aren't here for me."

Harry didn't say anything, but somehow he knew she was right. "I was convinced it was Ron they were after. But now..." Harry trailed off as he rubbed his eyes with his palms. "I've always guessed wrong. So is it Hermione? Or is she the wrong guess, and it really is Ron?" His head hurt and talking about it only made everything more confusing.

"He couldn't know about Hermione, Harry."

"He could now," Harry countered. "Everyone saw her. Even Crabbe and Goyle are smart enough to see that she was hacked off at me. He isn't far away, and owls travel fast."

"But he couldn't have planned it," she argued. "You said it yourself, he wouldn't expect us to get together, and that's what upset her."

"Maybe that wasn't part of the plan at all. Susan wasn't angry with me, neither were you, and I was the one who was angry with Ron." Harry scowled and stood up as his mind started filling in answers to all of his questions.

"You were right, you know," he said with a touch of bitterness. "Voldemort won't stop, and none of my friends are safe. He's been planning this for some time, now. Bellatrix could've marked Ron easily. She could have killed him —she should have." Harry paused as he heard Ginny's breath catch. "She had plenty of time. She was waiting for me to show up. I'd almost started to believe everyone else. I'd almost convinced myself I'd saved him."

Harry started pacing and talking faster. "Voldemort wanted him to live. He didn't want to separate the three of us, he wanted us to be closer. He knew Hermione and I wouldn't fight with Ron hurt. He wanted us to get closer, to make it hurt more when it ended."

"And just how close did the two of you get?" Ginny asked. Harry could hear a hint of suspicion in her voice. Was that what Ginny and Hermione had fought about? Did Ginny think that Hermione was trying to steal him from her?

Harry ignored the comment and faced Ginny with an empty stare. "He'll take Ron before we can protect him, and Hermione will never forgive me. That was what was supposed to happen. She'll be next. And then you, when he learns that his first attempt failed."

Ginny still looked a little wary. "Why not attack Hermione? Ron would be just as upset. Why not get the two of you—" Ginny paused and forced herself to continue "—closer, and then attack Hermione?"

Harry turned and kicked the chair across the room with a frustrated shout. Ginny was unfazed. Fuming, Harry stared at the floor as he walked about.

"Why not attack you?" he almost shouted. "Why not attack your family, or Dumbledore, or Colin, or the Giant Squid? What if this is all just some diversion, and tomorrow I'll wake up at the end of some Death Eater's wand?"

"You know why—" Ginny started to say, but Harry stopped her.

"No I don't!" he shouted. "I don't know why any of this is happening. Why doesn't he just come after me? He's had his chances. We both know that it won't end until we face each other. What's the point of continuing this?"

"He wants you to doubt yourself," Ginny answered.

Harry stopped pacing and stared out the window. "All of my instincts have been wrong. He's been anticipating everything I've done. He knows I'll worry about Hermione. He wants me to worry about her first." His eyes met Ginny's.

"They're going to attack Ron, Ginny. He knows I can protect Hermione."

Ginny nodded solemnly. "What do we do?"

Harry rubbed his eyes again. His head was really starting to hurt. "I don't know, yet."

Harry barely got any sleep that night. The dorm was empty, and like many previous nights, Harry was preoccupied with the knowledge of exactly why his dorm was empty. It seemed almost certain that he'd lose his last roommate soon. Harry laid in bed wondering if he was foolish for thinking there was even the slightest chance that Ron would be sleeping in their dormitory the next night.

The next day was the final Hogsmeade visit of the term. Most of the students would be leaving. Most of the first and second year students would be out enjoying what would probably be a fine day. The Great Hall was going to host a number of groups of fifth and seventh years who were preparing for the O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts.

Overall, Harry viewed this as a good thing. Aurors would be spread out throughout the Castle and grounds. He should never have to look far to find help. In his mind, he tried to work out a plan for the day.

He'd try to stick close to the Main Doors. That seemed to be the place where Aurors met and exchanged news. It also wasn't far from the hallway that led to the Hospital Wing. If he heard anything suspicious, he could find Ron almost immediately.

Ginny would probably be with him. After everything that had happened that day, he doubted she'd let him do this alone. It was then that it hit him. He knew the Death Eaters were going to attack. The only way he could protect anyone would be to force them to fight him. He was setting up a battle with at least one dark wizard.

The nervousness and anticipation didn't help him fall asleep any faster. Eventually, however, his exhaustion overwhelmed him, and as the first glow of the coming dawn peeked over the treetops, Harry finally fell asleep.

* * *

He awoke the next morning, after hours of restless, haunted sleep to the sound of footsteps in his room. His arm shot out and snatched his wand from the bed stand as he tore open the bed curtains. 

"Morning, Harry," Ginny said with a smirk. Harry put down his wand. Ginny tossed some clothes to him. "Go clean up. The rest of the students are getting ready to leave for Hogsmeade."

Harry looked out the window to the bright, but hazy sky. It must be late morning already. He took the clothes, and grabbed a set of robes on his way to the bathrooms. He returned a few minutes later, to find Ginny laying on his bed with a funny look on her face.

"It's going to happen, isn't it?"

"What's going to happen?" Harry asked as he quickly laced his shoes.

"They're going to attack, and we're going to fight them," Ginny explained. "That's the plan, isn't it?"

"It may not come to that," Harry replied. "They won't attack me. As long as I don't give them any other choice, they may just leave."

"And if they don't?"

"Then we'll fight."

"I'm not looking forward to this," Ginny said as she sat up and got out of Harry's bed.

"Neither am I," Harry agreed. "We'd better go."

"Do you want me to fetch the Map? I think I still have it in my trunk." Ginny asked as Harry opened the door.

"No," answered Harry as he waited for Ginny to pass him. "I don't think we'll be needing it, and I don't want anyone else to get a hold of it."

Ginny nodded and said nothing more. The two of them walked down to the Great Hall and sat at the end of the Gryffindor table farthest from the Head Table. They ate early, and their meal was surprisingly light considering Harry hadn't had a meal in a day.

They listened into the conversations of their house-mates enough to hear that Ron was supposed to be out of the Hospital Wing before supper. They gave each other a grim nod and stood up from the table. Few people had even realized they were there, and fewer realized they had left.

Harry led them to the Trophy Room. It was close to the main entrance, and they'd be able to hear anything interesting that was happening. To stop students and Aurors from hearing them, Harry cast a quick Silencing Charm. There weren't any chairs or tables, so they simply sat against the walls and waited.

They both knew that whatever was going to happen could happen at any moment, or it might be hours before it happened. After a few minutes of silence, Ginny pulled out her wand and began practicing charms and transfigurations on some of the few normal objects around the room.

She'd been managing quite well at turning a set of candles into scrolls of empty parchment, so she turned to some more interesting tasks. At one end of the room, on an simply stone pedestal, stood the Triwizard Tournament Cup. Harry stayed well away from it, as if being close to it might somehow trigger stronger memories of the horrible night he first touched it. Ginny, however, studied it for some time, then picked up another candle, and poked it with her wand. In a second it grew larger, into a nearly identical copy of the cup. The only noticeable differences were the complete lack of writing and an extra handle.

She moved on to other trophies, making copies of each of them. She had caught on fairly quickly and had even gotten a few of them to have the inscriptions rewritten to include her name. She was about to try a large crystal obelisk, when she paused to listen to some voices outside the room. The Aurors were talking. Ginny put down the last of the candles and gave Harry a questioning look.

"How are we supposed to know when its going to happen?"

Harry stopped to think. He didn't really know. "I guess I'll just know when it happens," he said lamely. "I mean, it's never been a problem, has it?"

Ginny's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "Harry! You knew when they were _already_ happening. We need to know before then."

She was right. They might not have time to stop someone from attacking Ron if he only saw it once it started. Maybe they should find someplace nearer the Hospital Wing to hide. His plan didn't seem quite so good anymore.

"It doesn't work that way," he tried to explain to her. "I see things once they start. I've always seen them before anyone gets hurt. If we were closer to Ron, we'd be able to protect him better, but I don't know how I could know before it would happen. I don't really control the visions."

"You did the night you brought back my memory."

She was right. He _had_ forced Voldemort to talk with him, but that was different, wasn't it? Maybe it wasn't. Harry thought back to the visions. They'd always felt the same. He felt trapped, or held. Except for that night. That night he'd felt like the world was little more than a thin veil flapping in the breeze, but he'd been _free_. Was that the key? Could he use the link just as Voldemort did? Would he know what Harry was doing?

"I'll give it a try," Harry announced as he straightened and forced himself to relax.

"Good luck," Ginny said with a weak smile. She stopped her practice and simply looked at him with anxious hope. Harry ignored her eyes watching him and closed his, trying to focus on the thought of the nearby Death Eaters. He didn't want to end up talking to Voldemort like he had last time, he just wanted to know how much time he had. It wasn't easy, and after a few minutes, he opened his eyes again.

Ginny was sitting quietly, making an obvious effort to not watch Harry, without moving or turning away from him. With a frown, Harry closed his eyes again and tried to relax. The darkness swam before his eyes, but even after another few minutes there was still nothing. He could hear the echoes of students talking loudly in the Great Hall, and even fainter, the sound of Ginny breathing. He could almost feel her staring at him.

"There's nothing," Harry said, breaking the silence. "It's not working. I don't think it works this way."

"It worked before," Ginny said insistently.

"Well it's not working now, is it?" Harry shot back at her. When Ginny remained silent, Harry reluctantly opened his eyes to see if something was wrong. Something wasn't right, but Harry couldn't tell what it was. Ginny was just looking at him oddly. Her lips were pursed, and her eyes were narrowed like they got when she was really annoyed, but her head was tilted curiously, as if she were trying to hear some faraway noise. Her eyes closed and her head dropped a little.

"Maybe it's not working because you don't want it to," she said in a controlled voice. "Maybe you aren't even really trying. No one would ever really know." Ginny's eyes seemed to look everywhere but into Harry's eyes. "You could just say you tried your best and didn't see anything until they killed him, and no one would think twice, would they?"

Harry's mind reeled at what Ginny was saying. "What are you trying to say?" he asked her, though he already knew. Harry watched as she took a deep breath and then forced herself to look into his eyes.

"Maybe you want Ron to die," she said in a shaky voice. Harry felt his jaw drop. How could she say that? She ignored his expression, and after a couple breaths, continued. "You didn't have to leave him, and you kept telling everyone that the Death Eaters should have had plenty of time to kill him."

"Are you saying that after all that time in the Hospital Wing that I—"

"Right—" Ginny interrupted, "—all that time waiting for him to wake up. Or die. And now you have your opportunity to save him again, or to arrive just a little too late."

Harry felt numb. If he weren't sitting against the wall, he might have been dizzy. Was this some nightmare? Had he fallen asleep? He stared back into Ginny's bloodshot eyes. Her cheeks were covered in red splotches of color and she was breathing in short, shallow gasps.

"Why..."

"He's always been in the way!" she shouted back at him. "He's been keeping us apart! Hermione doesn't spend any time with you. He took your prefect badge, and he'll be the Quidditch Captain next year."

"No," Harry said through his teeth. "That's not how it is—"

"It isn't? What is it then? Did you lie to me? Did you tell me that you were going to fight only to get me back? Or did you realize that the only way you'll live is to join Voldemort? How many more of your friends do you have to kill? Will Ron be enough to make Tom happy, or are you going to take Hermione just in case?"

"That's not true!" Harry yelled back at her as he jumped to his feet. "I'll never join him. If I have to die to save Ron then I'll do it. I won't let him kill another person, and I won't let him hurt my friends! If he wants to attack Ron, he'll have to face me first!"

Harry had yelled loud enough that his throat hurt. The sudden stand hadn't felt good after sitting for so long, either. The room spun about him for a moment, then stopped, only to be replaced by an ache in his head.

Ginny said nothing. She just sat on the floor staring at him. This seemed to anger Harry even more. "How _dare_ you say that I want my best friend to die! He's the only brother I've ever had. He's the closest family I've ever had. I won't—"

Harry blinked and stopped for a moment as his balance faltered. He'd forgotten to breathe. He felt lightheaded and disoriented. The room seemed to dim around him. He was about to faint.

Harry's back hit the wall hard, but it kept him from hitting the floor even harder. The pain was jarring, and helped him stay awake, but it wasn't enough to mask the twinge of pain from his scar. He slid down and finally hit the floor of the room, causing a flock of lights and shapes to dance in front of his eyes.

Despite the pain and dizziness, Harry's eyes flew open as he sat up again immediately. He'd recognized some of the shapes. Ginny looked genuinely concerned about him, but Harry didn't have time to think about that. He closed his eyes and strained to see anything more.

He saw the faint outline of an arched doorway, and rows of suits of armor. He knew that doorway. He'd passed it many times on his way to the abandoned office he and Ginny had used when they needed to talk in private. As the shapes faded, they were replaced by a few dull throbs of pain in his forehead. A moment later, they too were gone, leaving Harry sitting awkwardly against the wall.

Ginny was still watching him, but she also had tears running down her face. When she saw him looking back at her, more tears started rolling down her face and she shook her head weakly.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I'm so sorry..."

"What is going on, Ginny? Why— How could you say—"

"Please understand," she pleaded. "I didn't believe any of it. But... Something is happening, Harry. I can feel it. I needed you to see something, and the last time you did that was when you were furious. I had to say— I had to make you terribly angry. Please forgive me..."

Harry could see the remorse in her eyes. She'd been right. It had worked. He steadied himself and pushed himself back on his feet. He nodded and held out a hand to Ginny who was wiping her cheeks on her robes. Harry pulled her to her feet and she gave him an urgent look.

"You did see something, didn't you?"

Harry nodded. "A stone arch. A doorway, and rows of suits of armor. I recognized it. They're already inside the castle."

"Are you sure, Harry?" Ginny asked. She seemed to be pleading with him to say he wasn't. "Maybe it was someplace else."

Harry frowned and shook his head. "No. I know what I saw. It felt _close_. And it..." Harry trailed off, and stared out the door.

"What, Harry?"

"It... hurt," he said as he rubbed his scar. "It means Voldemort didn't want me to see it. It's happening. Right now." Harry paced back and forth in front of a large rack of awards. "Where is Hermione?"

"I haven't seen her, but she couldn't have left the castle."

Harry tried to think clearly. He had exactly what he needed: a warning. Now what was he supposed to do about it? He'd thought it would be simpler than this. Someone was inside Hogwarts. A Death Eater, probably, but it'd felt different, somehow. He'd expected it to feel _stronger_, and instead he couldn't even really see anyone. He'd expected to see someone walking toward the castle, or even toward the Hospital Wing, but instead whoever was here was simply walking around the halls. He knew he was missing something. There was something important he wasn't seeing.

"Something is happening," he said finally. "I could really use Hermione about now. I wasn't prepared for this." He looked at Ginny and frowned. This wasn't going as he'd expected. What if he was wrong after all and they weren't planning on attacking Ron? "What am I supposed to do? Do I protect Ron or try to find Hermione?

"Neither," Ginny said firmly. Harry gave her a curious look. "Tell the Aurors."

Could it be that simple? Harry thought about it briefly. It couldn't turn out worse than any of his ideas, could it? The Aurors could watch Ron while he found Hermione. With Ginny trailing behind him, he ran to the door and explained what he'd seen to the Auror who was always stationed there.

"Not bad, Potter," the Auror said with a grim smile, "but it's still old news to us. The detectors caught someone on the Astronomy Tower. Didn't get in, of course, and didn't seem to happy about it either, I'd say." The old gave a wheezing laugh. "Set off half a dozen other detectors when the door wouldn't budge. It was sealed tight when we got there. Took 'em a bit of time before they got them all reset. I kept telling Shacklebolt they were too sensitive. We've reset the one in the library once a week since we came here. Keeps getting set off by all those nasty books in the back corner. What students need with those, I'll never know."

"But they didn't get in?" Harry asked.

"No, sir," the Auror said with a smile. "We've been searching the forest for the last hour."

"The last _hour_?" Ginny said with a meaningful look at Harry.

"Well, maybe a bit less than that. Felt like an hour, but this doorman work is dull stuff. Maybe only forty minutes or so."

"No," Harry said urgently, "I... _felt_ someone inside not five minutes ago."

"No offense, Potter, but I'll trust my Dark Detectors over the twinges in that old cut, thank you."

"But I—"

Harry was cut off as the door swung open. A second Auror strode in, completely ignoring Harry and Ginny.

"We found something in the forest. No one gets out or in," he said roughly. "Not even Potter," he added with a sharp look toward Harry.

The Auror disappeared, and a moment later, the Auror at the door was waving his wand over the door. It glowed faintly, and then there was a metallic _clang_ that echoed through the Entrance Hall.

"Told you, didn't I?" the Auror said dismissively. "Whoever it was, they're out there, now." Harry started to protest but the Auror cut him off. "Aye, We'll be searching the castle, too. Shacklebolt's always got us searching the castle. Waste of time, though. We should be spending our time catching whoever's slinking around in those trees."

Harry frowned and looked at Ginny. She seemed annoyed as well. She nodded her head toward the stairs and Harry said a respectful goodbye to the Auror who wished them a good afternoon in a thoroughly bored voice.

"Do you think that was what you saw?" Ginny whispered as they climbed the stairs.

"No," Harry whispered back. "I've seen strange things in the Forbidden Forest, but I've never seen a stone doorway with suits of armor around it." Ginny nodded and kept walking up the stairs. "Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"To find Hermione."

"What about Ron?" Harry said. In a flash, panic struck him. "With the Aurors looking about in the forest, there are less of them here to protect him."

"I know, Harry," Ginny's voice was calm, but he noticed her pace increase. "We'll do better if we have Hermione with us, or at least the Marauder's Map. Pomfrey never lets anyone out early. He'll be safer where he is now, than he would be with us."

"What if Hermione doesn't want to help us?" Harry forced himself to ask. The last thing he needed was to get into another row with Hermione.

"She'll keep her mouth shut and help if she cares what happens to Ron," Ginny replied quickly. Harry nodded and took a moment to tighten the laces on his shoes.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Well, that seems like a great place to stop for today. I'll just leave you all hanging for a bit, alright?

How about another teaser for Chapter 46:

* * *

"Don't worry about that," Hermione interrupted him. "The Dark Lord would never allow any of his servants to kill you."

"That's not what I'm worried about and you know it. What if they're here for Ron?" Harry was getting very upset with Hermione's apathetic attitude toward Ron's safety, especially after yelling at Ginny and him the previous night.

"You can't save us all, Potter," Hermione said. The corners of her mouth twitched as if caught in a battle between a frown and a smile.

* * *

I think that is plenty of information to make everyone happy for now. Chapter 46 is loads of fun, so read quick, and I'll hope to release it tomorrow morning. 


	46. Granted Wishes

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

NOTE: This chapter contains intense violence, possibly objectionable attire, and generally depressing events. Don't claim you haven't been warned.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 46 - Granted Wishes**

* * *

Harry and Ginny walked with purpose and speed. With any luck, Hermione would be waiting for them in the common room. As they approached the top of the last staircase, they heard footsteps. They were moving fast, and in their direction. 

For a moment, Harry tensed and reached for his wand, but a second later, Hermione appeared around the corner, looking just as surprised as they were.

"Oh, hullo there," she said with a little discomfort. "Harry, I— I'm dreadfully sorry about last night, but— I need to talk with you. Something is going on. All the Aurors are searching the castle. I'm worried about Ron."

"We know. Harry saw something," Ginny answered, "but we don't have the Map. We were just going to fetch it from Gryffindor Tower." Hermione looked relieved.

"I was going to suggest just that."

They all walked to the portrait where the Fat Lady let them in after giving them all a suspicion and alarmed look. Once inside, Harry immediately took charge.

"Ginny, you'll have to get the map. I need my mirror. Lupin should know about this." He looked at Hermione who had hung back by the portrait hole. "Hermione, try any detection spells you know to see if there is anything strange going on." Hermione smiled and nodded.

Ginny ran lightly up the stairs while Harry went to fetch his mirror from his trunk. In a moment he was back in the common room, where Hermione was waiting for him.

She was lounging on the couch in front of a freshly started fire. She gave him an oddly relaxed smile as he walked up to her. Harry paused as he looked from her to the fire. She was sitting just as calmly as if today were just another day without any essays to write.

"Hello again, Harry," she said. "Come over here, there is something we need to talk about."

Harry walked over to the couch. "If this is about last night, you don't need to say anything—"

"Just sit," she ordered lightly. Harry sat down and gave her a questioning look.

"Is everything alright?"

"It can be."

"What do you mean—"

"Harry!" Ginny called out from the stairs. "I've got the map."

Before Harry could even look up, Hermione was already shouting back. "Thanks, Ginny. Just drop it at the foot of the stairs, and then would you run back up and find my book of detection spells? It should be in my trunk."

Ginny turned and ran back up the stairs to the girls dorm.

Ginny gave Hermione a confused look. "I guess," she said with a frown. "Don't you want to check the Map first, in case—"

"Please, Ginny?" Hermione interrupted. "We don't have much time."

Ginny frowned and nodded. She tossed the map onto a nearby table before turning and slowly climbing back up to the girls' dormitories.

"What do you need that for?"

"I don't," Hermione responded calmly. "I just needed to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Ron," she answered. She was looking into the fire with a troubled look on her face. "I just don't know what to do about him."

"He'll be fine," Harry said, trying to be reassuring. "We're going to protect him."

"Yes, I'm sure he'll be fine," Hermione said with a dismissing wave of her hand. "The problem is that I'm starting to fancy someone else, and I'm not sure how Ron will take it now."

Harry stood up and started to walk away. "Hermione, this is not the time to do this."

"Why not?" she argued. "Ron will be out of the Hospital Wing soon. I want to do this now."

"I had one of my visions, Hermione," Harry said angrily. "I think they're inside Hogwarts—"

"Don't worry about that," Hermione interrupted him. "The Dark Lord would never allow any of his servants to kill you."

"That's not what I'm worried about and you know it. What if they're here for Ron?" Harry was getting very upset with Hermione's apathetic attitude toward Ron's safety, especially after yelling at Ginny and him the previous night.

"You can't save us all, Potter," Hermione said. The corners of her mouth twitched as if caught in a battle between a frown and a smile.

Harry felt a bit odd, and at the same time a chill went down his back. His vision dimmed and he could faintly make out the shadows of a robed figure crouching against a wall. It looked to be in a tall room, or a wide hallway, all too much like the one that led to the Hospital Wing.

The intruder _had_ gotten into the castle.

The shadows faded, despite Harry's attempts to see them clearer. He knew what he had seen. A Death Eater was inside Hogwarts. They hadn't been in the Forbidden Forest, like the Aurors said. They were much closer than that. He felt it with more certainty than he ever had before. It was different than it had been, however. The shape of the person was dimmer and blurry, as if they were hiding themselves from Harry's mind.

Harry tried to work out what that meant. They had never hidden themselves before. They'd always shown exactly what they are doing. There _is_ something different about this time. They weren't just here to send a message. Someone was going to die.

"Hermione... Something isn't right here. We need—"

"I already checked," she interrupted with a gentle voice. "There's no one around. The first and second years are in the Great Hall."

"Are you sure?" Harry was certain that he had seen someone inside Hogwarts.

"Of course," Hermione said, sounding almost annoyed. "That's why I sent Ginny to fetch that book. It isn't even up there. I just returned it to the library. It should give us plenty of time." Hermione stood and walked to Harry. She put one hand on his shoulder.

"Time for what?" he asked warily.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, "Harry..."

"Wait a minute," Harry said as he slowly backed away. He looked behind him at the stairs to the girls dorms. They were empty except for the Marauder's Map, and completely silent. "Who exactly are you starting fancy?"

"Honestly Harry. You're almost as bad as Ron," Hermione laughed.

Her eyes stared directly into Harry's as her hands nimbly worked down the front of her robes.

"Does this help?" she asked smugly.

Harry's eyes opened wide. Under her robes, Hermione was wearing nothing but her skirt. He instinctively turned and closed his eyes. Against the black of his eyelids he saw the dark figure crouching and looking out of a window. He turned back to look at Hermione. Something bad was about to happen. He didn't have time for this.

"What are you doing, Hermione?" he hissed, suddenly aware of how this would appear. "We have to go!" His mind reeled with emotions: anger at the delay, fear of the danger Ron might be in, embarrassment at Hermione's behavior, and a extra dose of terror should Ginny walk back down the stairs. He stepped farther from his best friend.

"I'm sending a message you'll understand, Harry," she said in a patronizing tone as she walked seductively toward him.

"You're not acting like yourself... Is something wrong?"

Hermione's eyes fluttered, and she faltered. She looked at Harry, and for a second he thought he saw panic in her eyes. At that moment an imaged flashed in his mind of a shadow in a large room cluttered with tables and sofas. When the vision cleared, Hermione's eyes showed only confidence and annoyance.

"I'm so tired of being who I am, always doing the proper thing, always following the rules and doing what everyone expects," she groaned. "Ron was fine for a while, but he is so dull. And honestly, Harry, he's not going anywhere. Is it so strange that I might change my mind?" she asked in a solicitous tone.

"Yes, actually," Harry replied. "Her—"

Hermione smiled and with a quick movement, her robes fell to the ground and pooled around her feet. Harry retreated as he tried to look away while still keeping an eye on her. What was he supposed to do? Why was this happening now? There was something wrong about all of this.

"H-Hermione, you're acting a bit off. Quite a bit, really."

"Oh, what's wrong, Harry?" she asked, almost taunting him. "All these years we've been around each other, and you've never wondered? You've never had _any_ dreams about me?"

Harry suddenly noticed the table near the portrait hole. The alarm bell they had set was covered. The covering looked to be a girl's shirt.

"Hermione," Harry asked in a purposefully calm voice, "why is the bell covered?"

"It annoyed me," she replied testily. "What is _wrong_, Harry? What more do I have to do?" She seemed impatient and kept looking around the room, though her breathing seemed erratic and shallow.

She shook her head. "Perhaps you are worse than Ron." Harry's eyes closed instinctively as Hermione's skirt dropped to the floor. He felt a moment of intense discomfort. If Ron were his brother, then Hermione was his sister. It wasn't right. He wanted to run out of the common room, but some deeper instinct told him that he needed to keep an eye on Hermione. Cautiously, he opened his eyes, glad that Hermione was still wearing her nickers. He took a deep breath and forced himself to focus completely on her face.

She smiled and gave him a defiant look. Harry had almost convinced himself that this was some nightmare when Hermione's expression broke for just an instant, letting a single tear fall from her eyes.

The realization hit him. Hermione really wasn't herself. She wasn't even in control.

"Who's doing this?" he shouted. "Where are they, Hermione?"

"No one's— They—" She stumbled over her own words. Her eyes were growing redder as a pair of tears fell from her eyes. Her expression kept changing between sorrow, fear, bewilderment, and anger. Harry was suddenly assaulted by flashes of images of a hazy shadow with a raised wand.

Before the image cleared, he heard Hermione speaking with a clear voice again:

"No one else is here, Harry. I've wanted this for some time. I've been waiting for just this moment. We're all alone —for now."

Hermione walked to her robes and kneeled down to rummage through them. When she stood up again, she was staring at him oddly. For a moment, he was confused, then Hermione's face changed. Her lips were pulled into a cruel smile and her eyes glared maliciously at him. Harry tore his eyes from her face, only to find her wand out and pointed directly at him.

"Hermione, no!" he yelled as he reached for his wand. He had it out of his pocket when he heard Hermione's commanding voice.

"_Abiego!_"

Harry felt the spell strike him in the chest and he was thrown onto the couch. He was dazed, short of breath and his wand had been thrown from his grip and lay on the floor nearby. Hermione wasted no time in jumping on his lap and pinning him to the couch with more strength than he knew she had. Her wand was poking into his neck under his jaw, and Harry panicked at the thought of another Banishing Charm.

"No—"

"_Silencio!_"

He tried to shout, but he couldn't. Hermione gave a fiendish grin and immediately pressed her lips against Harry's. Harry tried fighting back, but between Hermione's abnormal strength and his own shock, his struggles accomplished nothing.

Then he heard a sound that stopped his heart beating. He heard the portrait opening and the footsteps of someone walking into the common room. His eyes shot open, and he saw Hermione's face, showing a mockery of innocent surprise. Harry couldn't see who it was, but he knew by the offset rhythm of steps that whoever it was was limping.

"Harry?" the newcomer called out. Harry's stomach froze at the sound of Ron's voice. His footsteps were cut short. "Hermione! What—"

Hermione turned her head to look at Ron. "Excuse us, Ron. We were in the middle of something."

Ron was furious and yet dumbstruck. His mouth moved as soundlessly as Harry's at first, though unlike Harry, he quickly found his voice.

"Hermione— Harry?" he said in a pained voice, "H-How... How could you?" His face was getting quite red, and it was apparent that his momentary sadness was returning to anger.

Hermione gave him an indifferent look. "Sorry _mate_," she said spitefully. "I just couldn't live with second best anymore." With that she leaned forward and kissed Harry more passionately than before.

Harry was disgusted, but Hermione was no longer paying attention to him and he easily shoved her off him. He had been expecting her to resist more than she had, but he found none of the unnatural strength she'd used to pin him to the couch. Hermione landed on the floor hard with yelp of pain. Her body curled up, hiding her face from Ron as she whimpered pitifully and smiled at Harry.

"How dare you, Harry! _Incarcerous!_", Ron shouted, and ropes immediately bound Harry from his shoulders to his knees. He then turned to Hermione. "What— Why?" he asked, with his wand trained on her now instead.

"We were just kissing— Well, we only got that far before you interrupted us," Hermione said as she gingerly stood up and held her arms across her chest. "It's your fault, really. You spent all your time with him, trying to keep him away from Ginny. Then you foolishly tried to save all the those students and ended up in Hospital Wing. After a few nights waiting for you to wake up, we finally realized our feelings for each other.

Ron's anger flashed in his eyes and a pair of books that were on the desk near him leapt into the air and flew at Harry. One struck the couch, but the other hit him in the chest. Hermione let out a short laugh and then looked at Ron in disbelief.

"Honestly, Ronald, did you think I'd pick you, if I could have Harry?"

Harry had been concentrating on his wand, and with a burst of will it jumped into his restrained hand. Hermione was facing away from him. What could he do to make Ron understand? Across the room, he saw the heap of white fabric that had been Hermione's shirt. She'd disabled the alarm. Why? There must be a reason. He clumsily pointed his want toward the bell, hoping that if he summoned the shirt it would raise the alarm.

Without turning around, Hermione's arm shot out and jabbed her wand at the table. "_Reducto!_" she shouted, and the bell shattered with a dull ring, shredding the shirt on top of it. Ron turned to stare at the remains, but Hermione acted as if nothing at all had happened.

"I mean, he's _Harry Potter_, and you're just another poor Weasley." she said. "Even Fred or George would have been a better choice. At least they have money." A smile spread across her face. "Oh, I'm sure Harry had his fun with Ginny, but how long did you think that would last? He's done with her and now someone better has come along."

Hermione held her arms out to both sides and walked toward Ron. "Take a good look, Ron Weasley. It isn't likely you'll get this chance again."

The sound of a muffled gasp came from the stairs and everyone turned to see Ginny standing on the final step with utter despair written across her face. "Harry?" her voice wavered. "It's not... She's—"

Harry pointed his wand at his mouth, hoped nothing would go wrong, and tried to remove the Silencing Charm. There was a tingle in his throat, and he didn't seem to be in pain.

"Run, Ginny!" Harry yelled suddenly surprising himself and Hermione, "They're here! Go! It's a trap!"

Ginny's eyes widened and she turned and bolted up the stairs. Only seconds later, the stairs shifted to become the smooth slide they had seen the year before. Harry sighed in relief. It was the first thing that had gone right today.

Harry could see the realization creeping into Ron's mind. Ron started edging closer to him. "Harry... What's going on?"

Harry struggled against the ropes. "I think— I think she's being controlled somehow," he said as he tried to free his hand. "Hermione, you can fight this!"

Hermione strode back over to pick up her robes and cover herself. She leaned over Harry. "_Why?_" she said to his face. "Why would I fight this? So I can end up without a Knut, stuck in that shack of a house with him and that tramp sister of his and whoever she's brought home that week?"

Harry stared back at her, with his own anger boiling up inside him. He didn't fight it. He could use it if he could control it. "Someone else is in the room, Ron," he called out. "He's controlling her."

Ron walked cautiously toward Hermione. "Fight it, Hermione. You don't have to do what he says." He clutched her shoulder, hoping it might help her.

As soon has his hand touched her, she lurched toward him and grabbed his arm for support.

"...Much harder..." she whispered. "It's— Not like... It's so much harder to fight..." she trailed off as tears ran down her cheeks. She looked into Ron's eyes and shook with the strain. "It's so much harder to fight when it's something you ... already want."

Ron let go of her and backed away as if she had slapped him.

"Don't listen to her, Ron!" Harry yelled, as he pointed his wand toward his chest. "It isn't her!"

He closed his eyes and shouted, "_Difindo!_" The ropes split at his chest and fell loose around him as he stood up. Ron was backing away from Hermione and she was pulling her arms through her robes as she pursued him.

"Whenever you look at me, Ronald Weasley, remember this: Remember that it was Harry in my dreams, not you. Remember that it was Harry on the couch with me, not you. Remember that I did this for him, not you. And most of all, remember that he was the one who made it all happen."

Hermione leveled her wand, "_Incarcerous!_ _Abiego!_"

Ron was sent flying to the wall with ropes wrapped tightly around him. His wand was nowhere to be seen.

Hermione wheeled to look at Harry, who she found pointing his wand at her. Her robes were unfastened, but mostly covering her. With a smile and innocent look on her face, she leisurely walked toward Harry.

"Harry. You wouldn't attack me? There are other things we can do..."

"I don't think so. It's your turn. _Incarcerous!_"

"_Abrumpo!_", Hermione shouted in return, her face breaking into a grimace.

With a sound like ripping fabric and a thick, fibrous cloud, the ropes from Harry's wand shredded themselves before they reached Hermione. As the bits of rope fell to the ground, Harry saw Hermione standing still, wand raised and eyes full of angry determination.

Harry started circling Hermione, his wand out, waiting for any hint of an attack. He was feeling a sensation very much like the one he had before he and Ginny had dueled, only this time it was real.

"Oh, yes," Hermione said as she smile. 'Harry Potter, the great duelist. You stood against the Dark Lord and won a draw, yet you were afraid to fight me." Hermione casually circled him as well. "Admit it, part of you has always wanted this. You've always wondered, haven't you? How would Harry Potter fare against the cleverest witch in Hogwarts? It will be quite a show, I'm certain. I'm sure Weasley will enjoy it. Perhaps your red-haired harlot will join us."

"_Expelliarmus!_" Harry shouted, hoping to catch her unprepared. However, the spell missed her by inches.

"Well done!" Hermione laughed. "You aren't distracted, are you Potter? What will Weasley think?" Her voice was full of derision, but her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"You can't win here," Harry replied, "and you can't kill me."

"That is not my task." Hermione's voice was hard and full of malice. She raised her wand and stared into Harry's eyes.

"Leave now!" he shouted. "Whatever Voldemort ordered you to do, I won't allow it."

"I truly hope so," Hermione replied as her wand slashed downward quickly.

Harry felt a sharp pain in his head as a chair which had been levitating over him crashed down upon him. He pointed his wand at Hermione, but hesitated. He couldn't hurt her.

Hermione shouted, "_Morso!_"

A sharp pain clamped down on his arm causing him to drop his wand. It did not linger, but the pain was intense. He yelled to the ceiling, "Is this how Tom Riddle shows his power? By using a Muggle-born witch to fight for him? He truly is a half-blood coward!" He reached for his wand and it jumped from the floor into his grasp.

With a scream, Hermione leapt forward and made a quick slashing motion with her wand. Harry put up his shield but the force of the strike was powerful enough to throw him against the legs of a large nearby table.

He slid under the table. "You wouldn't want to kill me. Your master would be quite upset." His head was still ringing from its collision with the wood.

"You're not the one I'm here to kill," echoed Hermione's response. "_Reducto!_"

He dove away as the table he'd been under exploded into splinters. He focused as much as he could, and quickly jabbed his wand toward Hermione.

"_Rictusempra!_"

Surprisingly, the spell struck Hermione, and knocked her off her feet, sending her into a stack of wooden chairs along the wall. Her landing was a bit more violent than Harry had intended. He quickly got to his feet and walked toward the tumbled chairs, hoping to see Hermione incapacitated with laughter.

Instead, she was pale and stiff. The sleeve of her robes was torn away where there was a deep cut along her shoulder. A thick red trail of blood was running the length of her arm. As she stood up, Harry felt his stomach clench. One of the smaller chair legs had snapped, and half of it was jutting out of Hermione's side, just below her ribs. She stumbled for a moment, then wrenched the piece of wood out of her side. It was bleeding freely but she ignored it. While Harry watched in amazement, she leveled her wand again.

"_Fractus!_"

Harry again put up his shield, and the curse bounced off and struck a chair, snapping a leg clean off it. He looked at Hermione and could see her trying to fight against the control she was under.

"I don't want to fight you," he told her.

She sneered back at him, "If you don't, Weasley will die."

Harry quickly tried to cast the full body bind on her, but she put up a shield even faster, and then aimed a curse back at him.

"_Incendio!_"

Harry jumped behind a chair, which burst into flames immediately. He quickly kicked it away from himself and toward Hermione. He had to find a way of stopping her, but he was having trouble thinking of ways to do that without hurting her. He tried to remember all the charms and hexes Hermione had taught him, hoping he could think of something that would stun her or put to sleep from a safe distance.

"_Stupefy!_" he shouted, but Hermione simply dodged it, and sent a candlestick flying toward Harry. It glanced off his shoulder sending spikes of pain up his neck and down his arm, nearly making him drop his wand again. As he dodged another curse, Harry decided that Hermione would agree that he had to stop her, even if it meant hurting her.

He pointed at a nearby chair and sent it flying toward Hermione. She seemed to ignore it right up to the moment it slammed into her and knocked her back into the wreckage of the other chairs. Ron cried out from across the room, and Harry turned to look at him.

Hermione saw the opening and leapt out of the chairs and started purposefully walking away with a hideous scowl on her face. As she walked she directed the chairs to launch themselves at Harry one at a time.

Harry ducked the first one, and managed to deflect the second, but the third slammed into his side. He felt a sharp, searing pain spread across his left side. As he turned, a fourth chair struck him in the back, dropping him to the floor. He quickly rolled away, and sat up in time to see Hermione walking toward him.

Her wand was already raised, and before he could move, a beam of read light lanced through the air. Harry was already shouting "_Protego!_".

Harry winced as he watched the beam of light suddenly pool in front of him and then shoot back across the room toward Hermione. It struck her in the thigh, and her legs were yanked out from under her, throwing her down to the floor onto her face.

Almost immediately, she got back up, with blood trickling from her nose and lip. With a flick of her wand, a splinter from one of the broken chairs stabbed into Harry's leg. Harry cried out in pain, and ripped the sharp piece of wood from his leg. It bled, but didn't hurt nearly as much as it had when the splinter had been there.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" she sneered. "Not bad, Potter, but you'll never win if you only play to tie."

"_Expelliarmus!_"

Harry hoped to catch her off her guard. The pain in his leg was intense, and he immediately realized that he hadn't been very careful with the spell. Hermione was tossed backward, her shoulders and head striking the back of the couch. She slumped against the couch and tried to stand up, but stumbled. She reached toward her wand, trying to summon it. Harry climbed to his feet and leveled his wand again.

"_Ledus!_"

A beam of silvery sparks jumped through the space between them and struck Hermione in the upper arm. There was a faint crack, followed by a short horrifying silence, and then a tortured scream. Hermione fell limp, sobbing.

"Harry..." she whispered between gasps, "...so sorry..." Her eyes blinked a few times as she sobbed, and then glazed over again. To Harry's surprise, she slowly crawled back onto her feet. Her broken arm shot out and her wand leapt to her hand.

"_Iaculo!_"

Harry automatically responded: "_Protego!_"

He felt a sharp burn on his right arm, but Hermione's left arm was bleeding steadily from a deep puncture just below her shoulder. She shakily pointed her wand at Harry again. He noticed that she was looking paler and weaker.

"Make your choice, Harry."

Suddenly a red beam shot toward him and he jumped aside, but was now pinned against a wall.

"_Fractus!_"

Harry put up a shield, and felt the curse bounce off it. He was rewarded with an echoing crack and pained scream as Hermione's leg gave out from under her. She fell to a kneeling position gasping in pain, but kept casting spells. Harry dodged a few books, and blocked another Breaking Hex but Hermione was pushing him back into a corner and he was running out of room.

"_Difindo!_"

He blocked it, but it rebounded and a fresh cut appeared across her stomach sending drops of blood falling to the floor. Hermione's mouth opened in a silent scream which eventually became a rasping moan. She seemed to stumble a bit, and her wand shook in her hand. She was almost close enough for Harry to grab her wand. With each hex, she got just a little closer. After one more, he could take her wand and end this. Just as he hoped, Hermione composed herself and raised her wand again. One last hex, he told himself, as he focused on Hermione's mouth.

"_Protego!_" he shouted as her mouth opened to cast another spell. The incantation, however, never came.

Hermione had stopped casting her spell. Harry scolded himself for acting too quickly, but it seemed to have worked. Hermione hadn't cast her spell. Perhaps he could just stall until help arrived.

That hope was quickly destroyed, when he failed to see any reluctance in Hermione's face. Instead, with steady resolve, she stepped closer to Harry and raised her wand to point directly in front of her.

"Hermione! What are you doing?" Ron yelled.

Hermione just ignored him. She closed her eyes, and took two deep breaths. When her eyes opened, they were filled with malevolence and concentrating intently on the tip of her wand.

Ron shouted from his corner, "Don't do it, he's got a shield—"

"_Abiego!_"

The hex rebounded almost instantaneously and sent her flying backwards. She hit a chair and a table before slamming against the back of one of the larger chairs near the fireplace. She crawled to her wand, gasping for air, and coughing blood.

"Harry, you're killing her!" Ron shouted.

Hermione struggled to stand. She was smiling, but her teeth were stained pink with blood which continued down her chin to her chest. He could tell that she was struggling to breathe, and her hands had already started to turn a sickly bluish color. With a shudder, the realization hit Harry. Ron wasn't the target. Hermione was. Voldemort wanted her to die fighting Harry. Harry lowered his wand.

"No. No more. I won't do it."

"It doesn't matter," she said with a hoarse laugh. "If you don't kill me, the Aurors will." She sent another chair sailing toward Harry. He ducked, and it only glanced off his shoulder, knocking him to the ground. He slowly pushed himself up.

"_Iaculo!_" Hermione shouted.

Harry felt a pain as if a burning hot knife had pierced his left shoulder. He dropped back to the ground. He could feel the warmth of his blood flowing down his arm and back, and as he raised himself up to kneel he could see a large crimson stain on the rug in front of him.

"What will the Aurors do..." she paused to pull another wheezing breath. "...What will they do when they come through that door... and find me standing over Harry Potter in a pool of blood?"

Hermione pointed her wand at Harry's chest. Harry knew she was too close. If he tried to block it, it would hit her. She couldn't take much more. He reminded himself that Voldemort would never let anyone else kill him, and closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"_Iaculo!_"

Excruciating pain ripped through his upper chest. It was blinding and consuming. He dropped his wand, and fell back to the ground, trying to find some way to force himself to breathe.

Hermione stood over him. She was freely crying now, but it didn't stop her. "No..." she whispered as a stool slammed into Harry's head, and he closed his eyes against the red flashes of pain in his head.

"...Stop...please..."

Harry felt a hot pain envelop his right arm. It was burning, quite literally. He rolled over violently, hoping to smother whatever flames there might be, and praying that it might reduce the pain.

"It's not... much longer..." she said haltingly. "The Aurors..."

Harry's whole body hurt. The pain in his arm was more bearable now, but it still felt like it was on fire. So did his lungs and he was distinctly aware that the warm liquid between the floor and his cheek was his own blood. He forced himself to turn onto his side. His wand wasn't far away, but he couldn't reach it. His shoulder wouldn't work properly, and his right arm was completely useless.

Ron wasn't far. Maybe he could help. Ron, however, wasn't looking at him. His eyes were focused on Hermione. She had shuffled over to stand in front of him. Harry watched in horror as Hermione raised her wand again. He tried to shout —to say anything— but all he could do was gasp for air.

"Remember this, Ronald Weasley," she croaked. She tugged her robes open again. "Take a good look, and remember... Remember that this was for Harry. He was my choice. He was the cause, and he was the reason." Hermione raised her wand and pointed it at the center of her chest.

"No, Hermione, you can fight this..."

"What's the point in fighting?" Hermione said weakly. "He's going to die..." Hermione gave a single coughing sob. Hermione stared pleadingly at the wand in her hand, as if she were going to beg it to spare her.

The wand slowly inched toward her chest, until it poked into her skin. Her jaw opened and closed silently. She was trying to say something. "I l—", she started but choked. "I love—" she tried again, as her wand jabbed cruelly into her chest. "I—I loved... him."

Hermione sobbed and closed her eyes.

"_Macula Exosus_"

Her wand blazed with a orange light and a dark lighting bolt scar was etched down the center of her chest. She collapsed limply onto the ground arching her back in agony and gasping for air. She threw her head back, and let out a weak, piteous wail.

Harry watched as she slowly stopped moving. He couldn't even cry out. His muscles didn't obey him anymore. They seemed to be reaching for his wand, but he couldn't remember why.

He closed his eyes and felt warm. Not the burning of his arm, or the aching of his chest, or the sharp tearing pain in his shoulder, but a pleasant warmth. It was almost relaxing. When he looked up. He saw Hermione moving. Was this a dream? Slowly, Hermione climbed back to her feet. Maybe she would come over and help him. She'd always been there for him when he was hurt.

But she didn't walk to him. Instead she ambled forward, and aimed her wand directly at Ron's forehead. Harry watched passively as the color drained from Ron's face.

"You have to fight it, Hermione," he said. "You don't want this."

"Don't worry, Ron," she said shakily. "You'll live to see tomorrow. But before then, know this: I will die not because of Harry, but because of you. This is your punishment for being Harry Potter's friend. You finally get your wish. Many people have died to punish him, but I'll die to punish you." Ron's eyes closed, as the point of Hermione's wand touched the skin in the middle of his forehead. She was pale and trembled uncontrollably.

"Please, try to... forget... forgive..." she mumbled as her hand wavered and shook. "I'm so... so sorry."

Harry couldn't hear what she said, but he saw the flash of orange light, and heard Ron's shout of pain. Ron's head slumped forward, and Hermione stumbled and fell to her knees, causing her to scream in pain yet again. Harry watched passively as she stumbled back over to where he lay on the floor. He was still reaching for his wand, but it was hopelessly far away. _Why won't it come to me?_ Harry thought, _Am I all out of magic? Can you run out?_

Hermione stood over Harry, and without warning, he saw a flash of light and felt the bones in his lower leg snap. He heard his own cries mixing with a pair of screams. For a moment, Hermione seemed to falter.

"...No... No more..." she whimpered as she unsuccessfully tried to stop herself from raising her wand.

Harry closed his eyes, and waited for the next curse.

"_Stupefy!_"

Harry's eyes blinked open. It hadn't been Hermione's voice.

There was a loud _thud_ and Harry's eyes saw half of a robed figure slumping against the wall, not far from Ron. He heard the sound of another cloak falling to the ground, and saw a swirl of flaming red hair as Ginny ran toward the figure. The stairs to the girls' dormitories were stairs again, and Ginny was still clutching the Marauder's Map in her left hand. She bent over the cloaked man, then stood up and kicked the intruder viciously. Harry heard Hermione's wand fall to the floor next to him. A second later, Hermione dropped to the ground as well. Harry could hear her rough, gurgling breathing.

It was over.

He tried to feel relieved, but found that he wasn't sure what he felt anymore. Was he supposed to be happy? Why didn't he have his wand? Everything would be okay, if he could just find his wand. He'd had it this morning. The room was getting darker and colder. Why couldn't it stay warm? It was nicer when it was warm. Was it night already? Maybe he should just go to sleep. He could find his wand tomorrow morning.

Ginny walked over to where Harry and Hermione lay on the ground. Harry was reaching uselessly for his wand, which was at least four feet from his hand. Hermione held an arm across her stomach, covering the both the long cut, and the larger wound in her side. The tears had stopped, and as she struggled to breathe, she stared up at Ginny, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry..." she said. Her lips were covered in blood. "It wasn't... wasn't true... lies..."

"I know," Ginny said simply. Hermione nodded and took a huge gasping breath. Ginny bent down to pull Hermione's robes close around her, covering her new scar.

Ginny walked around to Harry's head and sat down next to him. She didn't say anything. She just took Harry's torn robes and covered him in them and tried to wipe the blood from his face. She reached for his wand and handed it to him.

"Ginny!" Ron called weakly. "Help... Help cut me out of this." When Ginny remained silent he called out to her again. "Ginny?"

But she wasn't listening. Ginny just stared at Harry and Hermione. She folded a large piece of parchment and put it in the pockets of her robes.

"The Aurors are almost here." There was little life left in her voice.

Ron sat helpless in the corner, an unwilling observer of the ruin before him. Hermione lay writhing on the floor. She was bloody and broken, breathing in erratic gasps against the pain. Harry was sprawled nearby in a growing pool of blood. He held his right arm to his chest, trying to protect it. His mouth moved soundlessly in agony as he clutched his wand tightly in his left hand. Next to him, Ginny sat nearly catatonic, with her knees drawn up to her chest, her hands clutching her own wand, and the wand of the attacker.

Ron sat motionless in the corner. His friends, his family, and the girl he cared for so much were suffering, and there was nothing he could do about it. The new scar on his forehead burned sharply. He tried to forget the things he'd seen and heard. He tried to tell himself they weren't true. He looked to where Harry lay nearly lifeless on the floor. Harry looked back at him and tried to say something, but instead his eyes rolled back in his head as his eyelids closed. Ginny sobbed and pounced on Harry, making him stay awake.

Hermione's breathing was getting shallower. She had stopped shaking, and was now lying almost completely still on the floor near Harry. Her words echoed in Ron's mind. He could tell himself that it had all been lies. All of it except one part. She'd been hurt because someone knew it would hurt him.

This is what it was like to be Harry Potter.

"They'll be alright, Ginny. I know they will."

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Well. Not much to say about this chapter. I'll just sit and wait for the responses.

For those of you who've wondered if Hermione's been under an Imperius Curse for some time, the answer is still no. She obviously was during this chapter, but if I told you at which point it changed, I'd ruin my only fun secret that I have left ... well, I guess I still have the ending. No one would ever (_ever, ever, ever_) guess that.

I do also have to thank rdprice29 for her excellent advice on this chapter. Because she was nice and talked to me, she got to see the chapter early and provided me with some great feedback, which helped in making this chapter even more effective. I really can't express how much I appreciated it.

If any of you have questions about the chapter, or story in general, feel free to email me. I'll probably answer your questions.

Next, I was going to share something humorous: I got my first negative review. Some guy was upset because the story includes a relationship between Harry and Ginny. He thought it was good so he kept reading, but eventually it was just too much for him and he gave up. He wanted me to kill Ginny or at least hurt her somehow. I can't say he sounded terribly intelligent, but everyone is allowed their opinions, right? Well, he quit at chapter 11. Ironic. If he would have just stuck with it a bit longer...

Now: A teaser for the next chapter:

* * *

"When will it get better, Harry?" Hermione replied. "In a month? Two months? Will we still be alive then?" Hermione's voice was edged with a little desperation. "I can't tell if he's angry at me or himself, but it's killing me. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me: the guilt, the shame, the fear... and the same look he gave me when I gave him that horrible scar."

"That wasn't you--"

"It /was/ me, Harry," she said sharply. "I remember it all. I just didn't fight it hard enough, and he knew that I wouldn't. He knew that I was too weak to stop it. How could he know? How did he know just what it would take? How can we fight that? And now..." Hermione's voice trailed off into a number of faint sobs.

* * *

And thus do we get to the real teaser. The next chapter is the death of my last real mystery. I'll be sad to let it go. Lots of people have been asking the right questions and not realizing that all of them are related: 

How did Dolohov know Hermione couldn't resist the Imperius Curse? How does Voldemort know what's been going on? How did he know about Harry's necklace?

Of course, no one's asked the bigger question: Why did I pick that for the title of the story?

See you next chapter.


	47. The Book Opens

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 47 - The Book Opens**

* * *

Harry felt himself drifting toward consciousness. The world was still dark and muffled, but he felt himself slowly waking up. He felt his eyelids open slowly, and the world grew brighter. It was still swimming about him in a blurry haze, but it was there. 

He was alive.

He couldn't yet remember why he should be surprised, or why he should be glad about it, but it seemed right to feel a little bit of both. Shapes were moving about him, and they made faint noises that he vaguely understood. One of them loomed quite close over him and his thoughts brightened at the memory of the smell of raspberries.

In a blink, the world sharpened significantly, yet not completely. He was wearing glasses. He blinked repeatedly trying to focus on everyone standing around him. He could recognize most of them now, faces from what felt like years ago.

Ginny was sitting close on his right, and Dumbledore nearby on his left. One of the moving shapes had been Madam Pomfrey who was busy stirring a blue liquid in a large bottle. At the foot of the bed stood Ron, with white bandages wrapped around his head.

Harry searched for any memory of Ron injuring his head, but nothing stood out in his mind. Why was he here? He had faint memories of falling asleep on the floor... he'd been here waiting for Ron to wake up. Was this just a dream? Why was he in the bed instead of Ron?

Pomfrey walked over to him and put the bottle to his lips. "Drink this —just a few sips should do for now," she instructed him as she tipped the bottle up. The liquid was slightly sour, but otherwise not terribly bad. "I'm sure you feel tired, but you've slept quite enough and this will help wake you up."

She'd been right, and as the world slipped into focus around him he noticed the grave looks on everyone's faces. Ginny gave him a genuine smile, but Ron looked away and rubbed his forehead lightly.

A solitary memory flashed into Harry's mind: Ron, bound and helpless with Hermione's glowing wand pressed up to his forehead. Ron looked back at Harry and Harry knew that Ron could tell what he was thinking.

"Welcome back, Harry," he croaked. "We were worried about you."

Harry felt his vision blurring again, and suddenly all the memories came flooding back in nauseating detail. He remembered the revulsion of having his best friend try to seduce him, the feeling of suffocation as he reeled with the pain of his bones breaking, and the sickening stench of blood as he and Hermione lay struggling for their lives on the floor of the common room.

It took all of his strength to keep his stomach under control. He could feel the beads of sweat on his forehead as he struggled to stay awake. It was too much. How could everything have gone so wrong? When he opened his eyes again, there were even more people standing around his bed, and their faces looked even more concerned than before.

He searched the small crowd looking for one particular face. Molly Weasley was there, looking appropriately worried. A number of Aurors had gathered in the back, and standing next to Ron was Remus Lupin, smiling with relief and pride. Others were there, too: Professor McGonagall, Tonks, Emiline Vance, and even Daphne Greengrass.

But not Hermione.

Harry closed his eyes and took two deep breaths. How long had he been asleep? How badly had he hurt Hermione? He opened his eyes again and forced himself to ask Ginny the one question which he desperately wished he didn't have to ask.

"Did she... Is she..." he started to say in a rough whisper. He swallowed hard and tried to continue. "Is Hermione... here? Is she—"

"Hermione will be alright," Ginny said with a comforting smile. "She's just in the next bed. She's fine, Harry, she's just sleeping."

"Are you certain? She's not—"

"She was sitting on the bed next to you this morning," Ginny interrupted with a gentle voice.

Harry felt his heart skip. "She's alive? The Aurors... they didn't do anything?"

"Not to her," Ginny said with a frown. "It would have worked, Harry. They would have killed her if you hadn't fought and I hadn't stunned Dolohov." Ginny nodded at the bed behind her. "That was my bed the evening after the attack. When they showed up, they just saw you and Hermione on the floor and your blood on my hands. Remus stopped them before it got too bad. If I would have fought back..."

Harry took a moment to try and work out everything that had happened. They'd worked so hard to try and stop the attack, but they hadn't even understood what was going on. Ron had been attacked to get him and Hermione alone together, so that when Ron got out, he would be subjected to the scene that had occurred in the common room. He had indeed been the target, but Hermione was the tool to make it happen.

It was Ginny who had stopped all of it. They hadn't expected her to be with Harry, and despite everything that he did to try and make sure the plan failed, only Lupin had prevented them from succeeding in a way that would have been better than any of Voldemort's plans.

"What have we done?" he whispered to Ginny. "Without Lupin... you'd have been dead, and... We tried so hard, and it only made things worse. He still got them both." Harry looked at Ron. He knew what was under the bandages, and he remembered all the things Hermione had said.

"No, Harry. Don't you see?" she said in an excited voice, "We stopped it. It doesn't matter what else happened. No matter how bad it looks, _we stopped Tom_. He hadn't planned for Hermione to still be here, or Ron, or me. We're all still here, and we're by your side. He failed. That's all that matters."

In his head, he knew she was right. That had been their goal in the first place. And yet, he couldn't forget the sound of Hermione screaming in agony as she marked herself. Voldemort hadn't succeeded, but neither had they. Still, it was quite an improvement over the last few tries.

Madam Pomfrey came around with another potion for him to drink. With a little help, he sat up against the headboard and downed a small bottle of thick purple liquid. It tasted as vile as Harry expected, but the flavor passed quickly.

"How are you feeling?" Lupin asked him.

"Weak," Harry responded, "I don't think I'll be able to do that again for a few days."

Lupin smiled. "Yes, well I doubt Hermione will feel up to it either."

"It wouldn't really be up to her, would it?" Harry asked as she stared at his leg. It still ached a little. "There isn't much any of us can do about it either. We just get to sit here and wait for the next attack. The Aurors can't stop them. I can't stop them, not now. Not even Dumbledore can stop them." Harry glanced over at Dumbledore, but the headmaster said nothing. Harry looked around at the various members of the Order around him.

"There haven't been any other attacks, have there?" he asked quietly. "_This_ is what he's been doing, isn't it?"

Lupin frowned. "It's all that we've found, Harry. There might be other plans that he's just waiting to put into—"

"There aren't," Harry interrupted. "This was his plan. It took us all this time to see it. I don't see how we'll recover."

"Is it that bad, Harry?" Lupin asked. He seemed genuinely worried. Harry stared at him for a moment. He'd saved Ginny. He'd stolen the last chance for Voldemort's plan to succeed.

"It's even worse. You shouldn't have come. You shouldn't have gotten involved."

"I'm not afraid of Voldemort," Lupin said sternly.

"Neither was Ginny. Or Hermione. What _are_ you afraid of?"

"It doesn't matter. I won't leave just to save myself."

"Who said you were in any danger?" Harry replied. Lupin didn't understand. Even Harry hadn't understood until just now. Only Ginny had truly understood, and even then, only after it was too late. The attacks had never been about Dumbledore, the Order, the students, or even Hogwarts. Harry stared at Lupin, not wanting to say what he was about to say.

"When is the next full moon?"

Lupin's eyes twitched slightly. "That's not funny, Harry."

"It's not a joke, Remus," Ginny said firmly. "You need to find someplace safe to hide out during the next full moon. You should leave quite a few days before then."

"Why?" Lupin asked. "How can you be so certain?"

"You saved me," Ginny answered. "You stopped it. You're new. You've got a strong link to Harry, and you showed everyone that day that you care about Harry."

"But Dolohov is unconscious and locked in some cell. How could anyone know?"

"He'll know. He probably already does."

"Voldemort knows where my loyalty is. He knows I'm the last of James' friends. He's always wanted me dead. I won't hide in some cave because there is a chance that Death Eaters are coming for me."

"Don't you get it? He doesn't care about you. He doesn't care about Hermione. He doesn't care about any of you," Harry announced. "Hermione was supposed to be dead, and Ron was supposed to hate me for it. We stopped that, and now he's furious." He turned to look at Ginny. "You can feel it, now, can't you? He's not breaking people's legs anymore. He didn't want to kill Hermione. He wanted _me_ to kill her. He didn't hurt Ginny, he wanted _me_ to hurt her. He isn't going to attack you," he told Lupin. "He'll make me attack you, or make you attack someone else, and I'm not afraid to fight back anymore."

Lupin seemed a little shaken by that thought, and it took a moment for him to respond. "I... It doesn't matter, Harry. We're doing all we can. We'll find something. I'll do whatever needs to be done."

"There's nothing _you_ can do." Harry replied.

"Harry," Dumbledore said from the side of his bed. "You do not have to do this alone."

"It won't really matter, will it? Soon, there won't be anyone else left."

No one really said anything else after that. Dumbledore stood and ushered Lupin and the Weasleys (including Ron) away from Harry's bed. Everyone else followed them, probably to someplace where they could all talk. Harry was surprised and pleased to see that Ginny hadn't left.

To his left, he was finally able to see Hermione's bed. She looked calm and peaceful as she slept, ignorant of the discussion which had just taken place. Madam Pomfrey had been watching over her, but now that the room was clearing out she came over to look at Harry.

"You've been asleep for nearly four days, Mr. Potter. Your leg should be fine, though there may be a twinge or so from it. The one thing you've had plenty of is rest. What you need now is some activity. You'll want to get up and walk about —never far, mind you," she warned him. "You'll find that you tire quickly at first, but you'll feel better if you don't spend the day in bed." She set a large bottle of lime green liquid on the bed stand next to him. "Whenever you wake up, you take a few mouthfuls of this," she said, tapping the bottle firmly. "It's nothing abnormal, it will just help you recover faster."

Harry nodded and slowly swung his legs off the bed and cautiously tried to stand. Pomfrey helped him up and then frowned at Ginny. "I will permit Miss Weasley to remain with you, because of the courage and care she has shown. Do not make me regret that."

Harry took her advice and, with help from Ginny, he walked around the castle for a half-hour or so at a time, often stumbling back to bed and falling asleep for an hour or more. Each time he awoke, Ginny was sitting next to him, sometimes with a book, sometimes with trays of food brought by the House Elves. Each time he woke up, it was a little later, and after one last stroll to the Great Hall, Ginny said goodnight. She gave him a quick kiss and then turned and walked out of the Hospital Wing.

It was dark, and late, but Madam Pomfrey was right. He really didn't need sleep. He awoke only a couple hours later to a dimly moonlit room. There wasn't really any hope of going back to sleep, so he slipped out of bed quietly, took a quick drink of the potion at his bedside, and walked around the large room.

He'd felt stronger each time he walked around, but he hoped that he'd be able to tire himself out before too long. After walking around for some time, he still felt fully awake.

"I'm feeling stronger, too," a voice called out from behind him. Harry turned and found Hermione standing in the shadows between a window and the corner of the room. "I figured it was only a matter of time before you woke up. At least I don't have to be alone anymore."

Harry walked over to stand by the window. The moon was large and bright, but it was waning. Harry tried to work out how much time Lupin had before the next full moon.

"How is your leg?" Hermione asked.

"Fine. It actually itches a little."

"I'm sorry I kept missing you," she apologized. "I think they were trying to keep me from talking to you."

"Why?"

"I woke up last night," she said as she looked out the window. "I had been having the most horrible nightmares, and when I woke up I was alone in the dark, and all the nightmares were true. I... I didn't handle it well."

"No one told me anything. They were all running around trying to figure out why you weren't waking up. And Ron... He wouldn't talk to me. Well, he would talk to me about Quidditch or what Fred and George had brought with them, but not about... this. He'd barely even look at me."

"You can't think he actually believed any of those you said?"

"Don't you?" she replied. "You heard what I said. You know what the Aurors told us. Maybe I couldn't fight it because parts of it were true." Harry didn't know how to respond. There really wasn't much he could say. Eventually, Hermione answered for him. "I'm trying to convince myself that that it wasn't. It shouldn't be. It can't be. It's never crossed my mind, and yet if it's so obviously false why couldn't I— How can I convince him if I can't convince myself?"

"It'll get better," Harry said in an attempt to comfort her.

"When will it get better, Harry?" Hermione replied. "In a month? Two months? Will we still be alive then?" Hermione's voice was edged with a little desperation. "I can't tell if he's angry at me or himself, but it's killing me. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me: the guilt, the shame, the fear... and the same look he gave me when I gave him that horrible scar."

"That wasn't you—"

"It _was_ me, Harry," she said sharply. "I remember it all. I just didn't fight it hard enough, and he knew that I wouldn't. He knew that I was too weak to stop it. How could he know? How did he know just what it would take? How can we fight that? And now..." Hermione's voice trailed off into a number of faint sobs.

"It's not your fault, Hermione—"

"What does that matter, Harry?" she asked through her tears. "He used _me_ to hurt Ron, and I _couldn't stop it_. Neither of us will ever be able to forget this... if we even live long enough to try." Hermione wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dressing gown. "That's what Ginny realized, isn't it? So why the sudden change between the two of you? What did you tell her that made her feel so much better? I don't suppose you'd tell me?"

"I... I don't know how to explain it..." Harry mumbled.

"Try," Hermione pleaded. "What could you have said that made any of this alright? What convinced her that everything would work out?" She looked into Harry's eyes, and for a moment he wanted to try and explain it to her. Her face relaxed and her eyes blinked in realization. "It's not, is it? She's just accepted that it's never going to be alright. That's it, isn't it?"

Harry couldn't look into Hermione's eyes and answer her. She wouldn't understand. She couldn't. She didn't know what he knew. He could never explain how hopeless the situation was. He wrenched his eyes from hers, and forced himself to turn and walk back to his bed.

"Harry!" she called out, "It can still be alright! Tell me you haven't given up. Promise me you won't just accept this."

"I won't stop fighting," he replied over his shoulder. "Fighting back is all I've got left, now. That's all that matters anymore. I will fight him however I can, until one of us can't fight any more." He pulled back the covers of his bed and layed down. "I'm feeling a bit sleepy, again. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

As Harry tried to force himself to sleep, he couldn't escape the sound of Hermione crying in the bed next to him. Nothing he tried, covering his ears, pillows, and even Silencing Charms, was able to block it. It seemed to be coming from within his own mind.

* * *

When Harry woke up the next day, Ginny was back and sitting in the chair next to him. When he pulled the curtain to see if Hermione was awake, he found her bed empty. 

"She's not doing well," Ginny explained. "Pomfrey moved her to a different room."

"Does Ron know?" Harry asked groggily.

"Ron... er, Ron hasn't left his bed since early last night. He's been avoiding pretty much everyone."

Harry closed his eyes and almost wished he could fall back to sleep. Every time he thought that the situation couldn't get any worse, it did. Voldemort had failed at killing her, but he'd succeeded at taking both her and Ron from Harry.

Ginny stayed by his side throughout the morning, bringing him a large breakfast (on Madam Pomfrey's orders) to help strengthen him. By noon he was starting to feel somewhat close to normal, or at least normal for the day after a Quidditch match. He was able to pace around the room and help Ginny study for the O.W.L.s. Harry got the impression that she wasn't terribly focused on them, and seemed to be more interested in simply getting him to talk.

When noon rolled around, she left briefly to pick up food for both of them. When she returned, there were a number of people following them. The majority of them were simply Aurors, but her father was also in the group, as well as Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, all of the Heads of House, and Dumbledore. Following them was Ron, but he kept to the back of the room as if he didn't want to be seen.

Ginny was walking toward Harry's bed, holding a large tray of food. "I'm sorry, Harry," she apologized. "They asked how you were doing, and I didn't want to lie, so..." She shrugged and held out the food.

"It's fine," he said with a small smile. So long as he got to eat, he didn't mind if a roomful of people wanted to ask him questions. It wasn't like he had any of the answers they wanted to hear. After allowing him some time to eat, Dumbledore and Shacklebolt started casually asking him about what had happened.

As he'd predicted, for most of the questions they asked, he had absolutely no answer. He didn't know how Dolohov had gotten in. He didn't know how he knew where to find Hermione, or even how long Hermione had been under the Imperius before he'd found her. The longer the session went on, the more frustrated everyone got, including Harry.

It became quite clear that no one had any idea how the attack had happened, or what had been done to make it possible. Several of the Aurors explained that even Dolohov was unsure of exactly what had happened. It seemed that he'd been possessed by Voldemort to some degree, and had only the faintest memories of the last few weeks.

"I hate to say this, Albus," Kingsley said, "but maybe it's time to consider closing Hogwarts early this term."

"That's simply unacceptable," Dumbledore replied. "You know as well as I do, that if Hogwarts closes it will not reopen until this war is unquestionably over."

"That's what we've wanted from the start of the year," an Auror shouted from the back.

"And that is what I've been fighting since one instant after that time. There is no safer place for these students to be. I'm absolutely certain of that."

"I'm not," the Auror replied. "Seems to me that it's impossible to make this place safe. We've tried just about everything, but all we've ever succeeded in doing is showing up just as the Death Eaters disappear. Even when the I.C.W. was here we couldn't keep the place secure. We just can't—"

The Auror was cut short by a sudden shrill squealing noises which seemed to come from a half dozen places in the room. Harry immediately sat up and grabbed his wand from the bed stand.

The Auror ripped a piece of parchment from his pocket and examined it. A moment later, he pointed his wand at it. With a sharp, commanding "End!" the noise lessened, and Harry watched as a number of the Aurors did the same thing.

"You see?" the Auror said with obvious frustration as he waved the parchment at Dumbledore. "We spend half our time tracking down stuff like this."

"What was that?" Harry asked before the argument continued.

"It was a Dark Detector. We've got loads of them throughout the school. They're supposed to detect the use of dark magic," the Auror told him. "Of course, the one in the Library's been tripped again. It's been going off a few times a week since we set it there, and each time it does, we have to pull someone from patrols to go check it out. It's been the same thing every time: the same section of old books in the back corner. Peeves likes to open them and trip the Detectors."

"Why not just—" He felt suddenly very dizzy and slowly laid down.

Ginny leaned over him looking concerned. "What is it, Harry?" she asked.

"Nothing, I think. Just felt dizzy. I guess I'm not quite back to normal, yet. The room just got a bit hazy for a moment there, and then..." Harry unconsciously rubbed his forehead, then froze suddenly and sat up quickly. His scar was hot. Why didn't he feel it?

"Something's happening," he announced. "It's happening right now."

"Well, it's not happening in this castle," the Auror said. "Take a look for yourself."

He handed Harry the parchment, and on it was a long list of locations written in very small, faded grey script. About one third of the way from the top was a single line in pulsing red ink, which read "Library". No other lines showed any change.

He tried to get out of bed, but a wave of nausea hit him, and he doubled over instinctively. As he tried to recover, the room turned and tilted out of control, and a second later, he felt himself slam into the stone floor.

"What's going on, Harry?" Ginny called out to him.

"Voldemort's furious," Harry choked out. "He's doing... something." As he pulled himself up using the bed stand, he saw the large bottle he'd been drinking from for the past day. "What's in this?" he asked as he brandished the bottle at Dumbledore. Before the Headmaster could say anything, Madam Pomfrey spoke up.

"You've been subjected to some very powerful curses, Mr. Potter," she huffed. "Do you think that I can just charm away all of that pain? That potion takes away whatever I cannot."

Harry stared at the liquid. Was that why he hadn't felt his scar throbbing? How long had it been? What had he missed? He closed his eyes and tried to focus. There must be something he could see. However, instead of seeing anything, he only felt tired. There were no trees or shadows, or dark hallways, only calming blackness. He opened his eyes and regarded the potion suspiciously. "There's nothing else in here?"

Madam Pomfrey looked offended. "Of course there is. You're still mending a number of bones, you lost quite a bit of blood, and I added something to keep you relaxed."

Harry's vision went hazy for a moment as he glared at her. He felt a blaze of heat inside his stomach as he held the bottle. "A Pacifying Potion?" he growled as he regained his balance. Pomfrey nodded indignantly. "I wasn't trying to drug you, Potter. I just wanted you to remain calm."

"Calm?" Harry shouted. "I DON'T NEED TO BE CALM!" he yelled, launching the half-empty bottle at the wall. It shattered into a thousand pieces, creating a cloud of greenish vapor as it splashed onto the floor. Pomfrey simply stared at him, no doubt thinking that destroying innocent potions was not the best argument to prove how much control he had.

Harry didn't care. The Pacifying Potion would have been enough to let him ignore the visions. He tried to close his eyes again, but without any luck. When he opened them, everyone was staring at him expectantly. Closest to him was Ginny, who had an anxious, almost sorrowful look on her face.

"There's nothing," he told her. "I can't see a thing. Something's happening but—" He stopped himself as he saw the look on her face. She had an idea. Without knowing what it was, he simply nodded. "Do it."

Ginny slowly walked to the back of the room, and a moment later, stepped back through the crowd, pushing Ron in front of her. When Ron was standing only a few feet from Harry, she gave him one last apologetic look before pulling the bandages from Ron's head.

In the instant before they fell, Harry knew what to expect. Reality, however, was much more deeply disturbing than anything he could have pictured in his mind. Ron didn't look down, or away, but he didn't seem to really look at Harry either. Etched down the center of his forehead was a single scar, red and swollen as if he'd been cut with a blazing hot knife, and shaped like a lightning bolt.

Harry felt a great surge of emotion welling up inside him. All the anger, pain, frustration, and worry he'd felt for his friends seemed to build up until he thought he'd burst. Just as he thought he couldn't take it anymore, an image flashed into his mind. A long knife. His knife.

He closed his eyes, needing to see more. There was a room, dark, but with shafts of light shining into it. In the center, he saw two figures standing in the shadows, standing by a large heavy table holding an assortment of old books. It was a scene he'd seen many times. The Death Eaters were always searching through books.

When he opened his eyes, the odd feeling he'd had before was still there. Something was wrong. Something was happening right now, but he couldn't see it. What could that mean?

Everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to say something or do something that would give them some clue as to what he'd seen. He paced to the end of the bed, and back, hoping that he might be able to make some sense of what he'd seen. What did the knife have to do with any of it? It was still in his trunk... wasn't it?

As he turned to ask Ron, his foot slipped on a piece of parchment on the floor. When he lifted his foot to look at it, his heart skipped. It felt like he'd just taken a Bludger to the chest.

Harry took a moment to try and collect his senses. He took a deep breath and bent down to pick the parchment up. When he came back up, he found Ron and Ginny giving him quizzical looks. He swallowed and tried to speak as quickly and evenly as he could.

"Do either of you have the Map with you?"

Ron looked uncomfortable for a moment, but Harry gave him an insistent look and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. As everyone watched, Ron tapped it, and called out: "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

He scanned the map for a moment, then looked back at Harry. "What exactly am I looking for?" Harry held out the parchment. A third of the way down the parchment, a single line was still brightly pulsing in red ink:

_Library_

"You're daft," an Auror called out from Harry's right. "That Detector's gone off so many times I'm surprised it still works. If I had a Galleon for every time I've been there to reset that bloomin' thing, I'd be retired and living in the south of France."

Harry ignored him and waited for Ron to find the library on the map. Dumbledore, Arthur and Kingsley had stepped forward to look over Ron's shoulder. As Ron folded out sections of the map, Harry waited impatiently, wishing that he'd find nothing, yet sensing that no matter what he found, Hogwarts was in danger.

"Right, here it is," Ron finally announced. "Er... There aren't any Death Eaters there, Harry. Just Pince and a student." He gave Harry a shrug. Next to him, Ginny's eyes were staring at the map with obvious concern.

"Who is the student?" Harry asked immediately.

"Er... Claire Goldwater?" Ron answered casually, as he flipped through other sections of the Map. "You must remember her. We caught you two chatting outside the library, once. I guess she likes the library, she is a Ravenclaw."

Before Ron had even looked up from the Map, Harry had already passed him and was running for the door of the Hospital Wing. He could hear the sharp sounds of Ginny's shoes running right behind him, and a herd of Aurors in heavy boots running some distance behind him.

How could he have missed it? They all guessed that the Death Eaters were getting into Hogwarts somehow. He'd assumed it was Malfoy or Nott or one of the other Slytherins.

The Auror's words echoed in his head: "It's been going off a few times a week since we set it there..." All of the students gossiped in the library. Celeste Warrenton had just left the library before she'd been attacked. Hermione had gone to return a book when she'd been put under the Imperius Curse. The book Filch had found under his bed had been from a secret section of the Hogwarts library. And in every vision he'd ever had of them, the Death Eaters had always been around books. It was always books. How had he not seen it before?

Harry ran as quickly as he could. He knew his legs and lungs must both be burning with the exertion, but the potion Pomfrey had given him to drink was still dulling all the pain. As he turned the last corner, he saw a body lying across the doorway to the library. He covered the distance in only a few seconds, and stared into the eyes of one of the Aurors, his face frozen in fear and surprise.

"Come in, Mr. Potter!" a voice shouted from inside the room.

Harry gingerly stepped over the body and into the room. He almost immediately recognized the dark room. The afternoon sun streamed through windows and cast dark shadows where the shelved blocked them, giving it the same shafted appearance of his vision. In the center of the room stood Madam Pince. Standing very stiffly in front of her was Claire, with the knife Bill and Charlie had given him held to her throat. Her eyes were red, and it was obvious that she'd been crying for some time.

"Let her go," Harry ordered as he slowly walked toward them. "This isn't about her."

"Of course it's not, and that is why she is here," Pince sneered. "The Dark Lord thought that you might need to be reminded of the consequences of angering him." As she spoke, Ginny ran into the room behind him. She stopped somewhere behind him. The Aurors wouldn't be far behind.

"Let him come here and show me, then," Harry shouted, hoping to distract her. She started to respond, but he focused on summoning the knife, hoping to wrench it from her grasp, and let Claire escape.

With a sudden movement, the knife jerked sideways, etching a scarlet line into Claire's skin as Pince pulled the knife away from Harry. At the sight of Claire's blood, he lost his concentration, and leapt forward.

"Stay back, Potter!" Pince yelled, now holding the knife behind Claire's back. Claire gave a quick yelp, and Harry could only guess that she could feel the point through her robes. For a single tense moment, it seemed as if he'd lost all control of the situation. Aurors poured into the room led by Dumbledore, and Claire arched her back and gave a panicked scream as Pince pulled Claire's shoulders back against her. Upon seeing the rest of the wizards, Pince stopped and gave them a loathsome smile.

"Ahh, Albus, I knew you couldn't be far behind Potter," she said as she backed toward the table behind her. "And you've brought some of your lackeys from your vaunted Order. Oh, and you've even brought Potter's new look-a-like," she sneered at Ron. "But where is the know-it-all Granger? Still recovering, I hope— still lying in a bed weak from the pain and damage Potter inflicted on her."

As Pince talked, Ginny had slipped farther along the wall, and was nearly behind her now, though Harry couldn't see what good that might do.

"I almost hoped she would join us, so I might thank her. My master was quite pleased with me for telling him about her little weakness to the Imperius Curse. I was almost sad when I heard what was to happen to her. She was such a wonderful source of information."

Ginny pulled her wand from her pocket slowly and took a few steps toward the table, but froze when Pince turned to scowl at her. "But Miss Weasley surprised us all. The Dark Lord will not forget that." While she was turned away, Harry took the opportunity to pull out his wand and point it at Pince. Between her and his wand, was a very frightened Claire, who was silently pleading with Harry to help her. When Pince turned back to Harry and the rest of the occupants of the room, she found a dozen wands pointed at her.

"Put away your wands!" she ordered. "Potter's knife! It's terribly sharp, you see," she hissed, "and dipped in the most potent potion the loyal Severus Snape had in his office." Everyone lowered their wands except Harry. He kept his wand up, and took a single step toward her.

Ginny was still inching along behind Pince, though she didn't seem to be paying any attention to her. Instead, she seemed focused on something on the table behind her. Harry tried to see what it was without being noticed. Standing amongst the books and rolls of parchment was a small, shining gold cup: a nearly perfect miniature of the Triwizard Cup. It wasn't the first he'd seen. It was the same thing Bellatrix had used to escape after she'd taken Ginny.

"By all means, Miss Weasley, take it!" Pince shouted without taking her eyes from Harry. "The Dark Lord enjoyed your company so much the last time you visited. I'm certain that he would like very few things more than the chance to meet you again."

"You've got me here now," Harry called out, hoping to turn Pince's attention from Ginny. "Let Claire go."

"Oh, you're here to protect her, now?" Pince laughed. "It's a little late for that, don't you think? Where were you when the Warrenton girl was killed? Doting on the Weasley tramp. Where were you her great-grandfather fell to Rodolphus and Rastaban in Romania? You were practicing to win your precious Quidditch Cup. And where were you when her cousins were crushed in their own house exactly one month ago? I believe you were busy torturing your tart of a girlfriend to within an inch of her life."

Pince paused to tighten her grip on Claire. "And you come here _now_ to protect her," she sneered. "How pointless."

"I won't let you hurt her."

"I _will_ kill her," Pince replied. "My master has commanded it, but it is only my hand which will deliver the blow. It was your lack of cooperation which has caused this to happen, and it will be your failure when it happens."

"Voldemort never wanted me to cooperate," Harry growled at her, still pointing his wand at her face. "He's just hiding like a coward and making you lot do all his work. Dolohov's already in prison. You'll be joining him. If you let her go, maybe the Aurors will let you have books to read. I'll stop every last one of you if that's what it will take to end this."

Pince laughed at his threat. "There is only one way this can end, Potter: the way it was supposed to end two years ago. He summoned you to your death and you ran from him. He's more alive than you are now. You died that night in the graveyard. Your body lives on, but your spirit is withering," she said with disdain. In front of her, Claire was starting to look pale and dizzy, as if she were about to faint. In her current position, that might be deadly.

"Even now, you are consumed by my master's power," Pince continued. "It has surpassed your own. It drove you to turn on those you professed to love, and hurt them beyond anything you could have imagined."

"Put away the knife," Harry ordered, hoping it would not sound like he was pleading with her. "If you hurt her, you'll never leave this room."

"Indeed," Pince replied scornfully. "And what would it matter? She too has already died. She died nine months ago. Her whole family is dead now. Cousins, uncles, grandparents, close friends. All killed, and not a word from the Ministry. Her father died that night, of course. Her mother's soul lives on in a prison of a body that will not let her die. Only the daughter remains, waiting for her turn, and hating her godfather a little more each day."

"You never told her, did you?" Pince whispered. "Never told her who her godfather was? Why it was all happening to her?" Claire's eyes opened slightly at her comments. Pince leaned forward so that her mouth was next to Claire's ear.

"Your family is dead because your godfather defied my master. Your mother was certain that he could protect you, but she was wrong. He couldn't protect you. He couldn't even protect his friends, could he, Potter?"

Claire's eyes opened wide as she stared at Harry. "No..." she said faintly. "Why... Why couldn't you..."

"Because he knew that you were already dead," Pince hissed in her ear. "He's a curse, and like you, everyone around him dies." As Claire stared at Harry, Pince carefully backed up a few steps and turned to look at the table.

A harsh, rage-filled cry filled the room as Pince dragged Claire toward Ginny. "What have you done, foolish girl?" Pince shouted at her as she advanced. "Where is the cup?" she bellowed.

"Let her go!" Ginny ordered.

Pince squeezed Claire's neck, making her whimper. "The Dark Lord will know what you've done," she growled. "He won't kill you, now. You'll live to learn levels of remorse and agony that no one in a hundred years has imagined."

With a shout, she jerked back on Claire's neck, and Harry stood in shock at the sight of the tip of the perfectly crafted knife sticking out of Claire's stomach just below her ribs. She let out a pair of choked gasps for air, before her eyes rolled back into her head and she dropped to the floor.

When he looked up again, Madam Pince already had her wand out and was pointing it directly at Arthur Weasley, who was charging forward to protect Ginny. As Harry took aim with his wand, he could hear her shouting the worst thing imaginable:

"_AVADA KA—_"

Before she could finish she was struck with a chorus of spells from every other wizard in the room. Even Ron was staring at her limp body with disgust, his wand still pointing at the spot she'd been standing.

Harry jumped over Pince and dropped to the floor next to Ginny, who was already trying to pick Claire up. Dumbledore rushed over to them, and in an instant had gathered her in his arms, with the knife still sticking through her body. A moment later he was gone, striding down the hall much more quickly than Harry could gather the strength to run. Halfway to the Hospital Wing, his legs gave out, and he dropped to the floor. Ginny stopped and knelt beside him. She said nothing, but simply helped him over to the wall, where they sat together in mournful silence.

Together they waited for Harry's strength to return, if it ever would. Large numbers of Aurors had walked through the hallway, and Harry guessed that the large box they'd taken past him had been Pince's body, either dead or heavily imprisoned. It was difficult to tell how much time had passed, but when Dumbledore returned, the Aurors had pretty much deserted the corridor.

"Miss Goldwater is alive," he announced. Harry wanted to feel happy, but Dumbledore's face remained quite grave. "The wound, however, remains, and it will take some time to prepare the antidote once we discover which poison was used. Poppy has promised that she will do whatever she can, and I believe that she has the ability heal Claire."

Harry felt numb. There was no pain, no fatigue, no sadness, and no hope for the future. If Claire survived, it would only be to wait for the next attack, and to hate him for what he'd done. Every muscle in his body felt weak, but he forced himself to stand, and with a little support from Ginny, he walked back to Gryffindor Tower, and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Author's notes: 

So now you know all the secrets. Feel free to run back and look at all the references. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who honestly thinks they had a clue before the teasers at the end of the last chapter. As far as I'd heard, no one had any idea, and that's the way I wanted it. Mean, I know, but that shouldn't shock any of you anymore.

I'm skipping teasers for the next chapter. There just isn't anything teaser-worthy. Just read it and try to convince yourself that there are only two more chapters left and that its not worth stopping anymore.


	48. Taking Flight

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 48 - Taking Flight**

* * *

Harry didn't care about any of his classes, anymore. When it came time for him to go to Herbology, he ignored the rest of the students and walked back to Gryffindor Tower. Walking was still tiring work, but he no longer had any problems staying on his feet. He was certainly capable of going to Herbology, but it simply didn't seem important. 

Claire had made it through the night, with some help from Snape, who had found some potion to slow the action of the poison flowing through her veins. She was still far to weak and sick to even wake up, but it had given many people hope for her recovery.

Hermione was doing a little better than she had been the day before, but she still wasn't strong enough to leave the Hospital Wing. Harry would have visited her, but with Claire there, it wouldn't have been very relaxing for either of them. So he was going to sit and wait in Gryffindor Tower for news.

He sat there all through the afternoon, leaving only for a quick lunch. The other students left him alone for the most part. Harry didn't feel like talking to anyone, and everyone seemed to understand that. Even Ginny kept quiet around him. She came in between her classes to sit silently with him, speaking only to announce her departure. The thought of eating dinner with a hall full of students didn't sound appealing, but it wasn't enough to completely cure his hunger. As a compromise between his stomach and his mood, he slipped down to the kitchens and ate a sandwich while the rest of the house elves frantically prepared for the evening meal.

Shortly after Harry got back to the common room, he heard the portrait open and Ron walked into the room, still wearing the bandages around his head. He was also still avoiding Hermione for the most part. He'd been walking with her that morning, but both of them had looked miserable. It looked as if Ron wasn't any more keen on dinner than he was. Ron was eating a sandwich much like the one the elves had given Harry. He took a seat next to Harry and for a few minutes they sat on the couch staring out the window, not saying anything to each other.

"You up for a game of chess?" Ron finally asked. Harry had nothing better to do, and it would at least give him something to think about.

They put the board down in front of the empty fireplace, and sat on the floor as they played. It was far from their first time playing, and Harry recognized most of the strategies that Ron used to start games. The one he was using today was aggressive, almost forceful. Harry countered it with a slightly less aggressive response. If Ron were really in the mood to play chess, Harry didn't have much of a chance to win. He might, however, succeed in drawing out the game long enough to serve as a decent distraction.

Ron quickly adapted and became a little more subtle in his choices of moves. For some time, the pieces slid back and forth, moving only short distances and covering each other in an intricate web. Things seemed to be going well for Harry, and when Ron's bishop stepped out into the center of the board, he had to stop and examine the board more closely.

Did Ron know what he had just done? Where there had once been a solid defense, there was now a slight weak spot. Whether it was because he was distracted by the thought of Hermione, or even pity for what Harry had been through, Harry decided it wouldn't be fair to ignore it.

Harry's knight jumped around Ron's bishop, and blocked its escape. Ron's pieces marched back and forth, in a vain effort to save it, but it was only a matter of time before Harry's knight tossed the bishop from the board. Harry let himself smile for just a moment. Ron saw it, and Harry quickly forced himself to stop.

"It's alright, Harry," Ron said as he pointed his pawn to the right square. "You're allowed to be happy about it."

Harry scanned the board, looking for the opening that might allow him to weaken Ron more. With a slight nudge, his rook reluctantly slid forward, nearly two-thirds of the way across the board. After another round, Ron had lost a rook as well.

Any contentment Harry might have had disappeared the next move. He should have been paying a little more attention. One of Ron's knights put his king in check, while threatening a bishop. A rook was in position to take the knight, but it would leave him open to Ron's remaining bishop and queen.

Harry closed his eyes and made his decision. Even without a bishop, he'd still have enough pieces to put Ron in a tight position. Despite complaints from his king, Harry directed him to a neighboring square. Ron took the bishop, and Harry attempted to protect his king by pulling back his rook. Ron took his other knight the following turn, and his rook the turn after that.

Harry struggled to understand what had happened to put him in such a bad situation. His pieces were scattered across the board, without any of the organization he'd spent so much time trying to build. Even his queen was pinned into a corner, still in play but nearly useless.

He took a moment to try and find some way out of the disaster he'd created. It had started out so well, he told himself. There was no way out of it. Ron was simply too good. Perhaps he was the one who was distracted. He needed to think. He closed his eyes and rubbed them, hoping to see some answer to his problems. Instead, he saw a hallway.

Harry jumped to his feet, nearly scattering the chess board. Ron stared at him in apprehensive fear.

"Harry? What's wrong?"

"Death Eaters," Harry answered as he closed his eyes and concentrated on what he saw. Slowly the images came to him. A pair of cloaked figures striding down a hall. It was a hall Harry remembered, but it wasn't at Hogwarts. They turned a corner and burst through a doorway to enter a room with rows of beds. It was like the Hospital Wing, but different. It had to be St. Mungo's.

"Find Dumbledore," he commanded.

"And tell him what?" Ron asked. "What do you see?"

Harry watched passively as the cloaked wizards walked up to a bed at the far end of the room. One of them bent over the bed, and whispered to a face that Harry recognized too well.

"The Dark Lord keeps his promises," he hissed. "You can go to your daughter now, knowing that Harry Potter will join you soon."

Capella York's eyes opened wide and she was only able to scream for an instant before it was drowned by a louder voice.

"_Avada Kedavra_"

There was a flash of green light and the sound of rushing air in his ears. His scar was throbbing, and he felt disoriented. When he opened his eyes, he found the Gryffindor common room tipping precariously on its side. A moment later, he felt pain shoot through his ribs as he hit the arm of one of the nearby chairs before landing on the floor.

Ron was saying something to him, but all Harry could hear was the laughter of the Death Eaters as they continued attacking the other occupants of the room. As Harry struggled to stand up, the sound seemed to be fading.

"Death Eaters at St. Mungo's," Harry finally said as he leaned heavily on the chair behind him. "I've got to find Dumbledore." He took a step, but his leg gave out under the weight and he nearly fell a second time.

"You need to sit down," Ron told him, "You can barely stand. I'll find Dumbledore. You stay right here." Ron gave him a stern look, and then ran for the portrait.

Gradually, his balance returned to him. Ron had only been gone a short while, but Harry was starting to get anxious. He slowly realized what he'd seen. Death Eaters had murdered Claire's mother. Someone needed to tell Claire.

Claire.

As if triggered by the vision, his mind replayed the words Voldemort had said the night her family had been attacked. Voldemort had let her live so that she would see Harry fail. Had he failed? His heart was beating wildly. If they had killed Claire's mother, it must mean...

When he stood up, the world lurched only slightly. He quickly steadied himself and walked to the portrait. Once outside, he was surprised at the emptiness of the castle. He carefully walked down the stairs, trying to keep from losing his balance and falling down them. When he reached the foot of the stairs, he heard someone calling out to him.

"You there!" a witch shouted. "All students are to be in the Great Hall or their common rooms! Unless you're a Slytherin, you'd best head back." Harry stopped where he was. What was going on? The witch was walking toward him at a brisk pace. "You heard me!" she shouted. "Go back to your— Oh, it's you. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'll be fine," Harry replied. "What is going on?"

She walked up to Harry and started explaining quickly. "There was a report of an attack—not here, though—" she added before Harry could run off. "Somewhere in London. Quite a few of the Aurors left, so we're a little shorthanded right now. I haven't seen Dumbledore, so he might have left with them. If you need to speak with him, your best shot might be the Hospital Wing. If there are any survivors, Dumbledore will probably bring them there."

The Auror gave him a nod and then walked off without looking back, leaving him standing in the empty corridor. The Aurors had left to go to St. Mungo's. It wasn't just a solitary attack. They had started another battle. Maybe that meant that Claire's mother was just attacked because Voldemort was tired of waiting. There was still only one way to find out.

Harry walked faster now, running when he had long stretches of hallway to cover. He saw only one other Auror on his way, and only in passing as they crossed paths at the top of the last flight of stairs before he reached the Hospital Wing. He burst into the Hospital Wing and found Madam Pomfrey packing a pile of bottles and vials into a pair of large bags.

"If you're not missing a limb, I don't have time for you, Mr. Potter," she called out as she hefted another bag onto her shoulder from the floor.

"Where are you going?" he asked her frantically. "Where is Claire?"

"No reason to worry about that now," Pomfrey replied. "I'll be back soon enough I'm afraid. The best thing for you to do would be to go the Great Hall. The last thing I need is for you to get attacked by some overworked Auror because you were sneaking about where you didn't belong." She picked up the other two bags and shuffled toward the fireplace, where a bright green fire was blazing. "And don't you try and follow me. The Floo is only open to me, you'll just end up stuck in some broom closet on the third floor."

Before Harry could get another word out, Madam Pomfrey had turned and hopped into the flames. With a last burst of flame, she disappeared leaving Harry alone again. Why shouldn't he worry about Claire? Where was she? Harry hadn't been allowed to see her, but he'd assumed she was in the Hospital Wing. Harry ran from bed to bed, pulling back curtains to reveal rows of empty beds. He stopped after twenty or so beds. Pomfrey wouldn't put her in the main room. Harry ran for the side room where Hermione had been taken the morning Claire had been attacked.

The room was only dimly lit, but there were no curtains between the ten beds spread along the walls. Hermione was gone, but not all the beds were empty. It took him only a few seconds to spot it. Along the back wall sat the only bed in the room without clean, smooth sheets. It was shrouded in shadows and surrounded by half-empty bottles.

Harry ran to it, knowing it had to be Claire. From halfway across the room, he already knew what he would find. As he stepped close to the bed, the torches along the walls flared to life, bathing the room in light. Claire was laid out before him. She wasn't moving, and her face had already taken on a pallid grey color.

She was dead.

Something broke inside Harry. He felt cold and empty. Some part of his spirit was gone, but he didn't know quite what it was. Perhaps it was the last bit of pity he felt for the Death Eaters and their forced servitude of their master. Perhaps it was the last of his fear of facing the dark wizard who would not stop until Harry was dead. And maybe it was the last of his hope that his life might end any other way.

He stood there staring at Claire's face for what could have been minutes. He knew that he'd never be able to forget the look on her face. Her eyes were closed, but her face still looked tense. She'd died in pain.

Harry tried to convince himself that it wasn't his fault. He wasn't the one who'd killed her parents. He hadn't attacked her family, or frightened away her friends. He hadn't put the knife through her back. Still, it happened because he was still there, because he was still defying Lord Voldemort.

They'd all been attacked because of him. What was the point of all of it? It wasn't like Harry didn't know that Voldemort hated him, or that he would never have a normal life so long as Voldemort lived. What was Voldemort hoping to accomplish?

Suddenly something caught Harry's eye. Sitting on one of the tables beside the bed, was the knife Charlie and Bill had given him for his birthday. It was the same knife Claire had been stabbed with, and the same knife that Ginny had hung from when the Death Eaters let her go. And before that, it had been used to kill the look-a-like Voldemort had brought to torment Ginny. Had that been the purpose? Hadn't Voldemort planned for Harry to torture her? Was there something he'd missed?

Ginny had been terrified that Harry would follow her. She'd been trying to keep him safe. Was Voldemort trying to show Harry what he really wanted?

Harry picked up the knife and stared at it. Was it that simple? Was that what Voldemort wanted? If he wanted to lure Harry away from Dumbledore and Hogwarts, why was he hiding? How was Harry supposed to find him? If he would have had any idea where to start, he would have left after they took Ginny. He still had no idea how he was supposed to find Voldemort.

Or did he?

Pince said that there was only one way it would end: the way it was supposed to end two years ago. Harry turned and strode out of the room. The answer had been there all this time. Voldemort had meant for him to see it long ago. Bellatrix had shown him, but he'd been too stupid to see it.

The Aurors seemed to have deserted the halls. They were probably watching the students. Even if they were guarding the common room, they would let Harry pass. Dumbledore was gone, for the moment. If he acted quickly, no one would even know until he was gone.

* * *

"You did what?" Ginny shouted at Ron. 

"What was I supposed to do? He could barely stand. He'd never have made it out the portrait hole."

"So you left him alone?"

"He told me to find Dumbledore."

"And what good would that do?" Ginny asked. "Do you think that Dumbledore wouldn't know that Death Eaters had attacked St. Mungo's?" Ron didn't reply but gave Ginny a very annoyed look. Ginny gave him an expectant look. "Well? Where is he now?"

"I don't know," Ron replied indignantly. Ginny sighed loudly.

"Check the Map, then, Ron."

Ron rifled through his pockets for a second, then stopped and stared at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. "I don't have it. I left it in the Tower."

"Come on, then," Ginny said as she headed for the door. "We're going to go get it."

"I'm coming, too," Hermione announced as she pulled herself to her feet. Ron protested a little, but Hermione ignored him and followed Ginny with only a little unsteadiness in her walk. When Ginny walked through the door, she found Ron running to catch up.

She walked as quickly as Hermione could follow, hoping that Harry would be sitting just where Ron had left him, and fearing that she would not. The Auror at the door to the Great Hall had seen the look on Ginny's face, and still trusted the D.A. enough to allow Ron and two of the Council members to leave if they wished. Ginny was counting on the fact that any other Auror would make a similar decision.

When she reached the Gryffindor common room, there was no Auror standing guard at the portrait.

"Where is Harry?" Ginny asked the Fat Lady. "Has he left the tower?"

"I'm afraid the Headmaster has forbidden me to talk about Mr. Potter's whereabouts," the Fat Lady replied. "If you want to know, you'd best look for yourself."

Ginny gave the password and leapt into the common room. It was completely empty. She searched for any sign that Harry had been there, but only found the chess board.

"You got him to play chess with you?" Hermione asked from a chair. Ron nodded and explained that he'd just wanted to pass the time. "It wasn't that good of a game. I think we were both a bit distracted. We were right in the middle of the game when Harry told me to go find Dumbledore."

"You must have been distracted if you thought it was the middle of the game," Hermione said as she pointed at the board. Ginny turned to see what she was talking about. Pieces were spread across the board, in a sparse pattern. Harry usually played the white side. and his pieces seemed to be in more disarray than Ron's. Most importantly, his king was lying on its side between a pawn and a rook.

Ron stared at the board in confusion. "Must have been knocked over when he stood up," he said. "Harry never resigns. He always plays until the end."

Ginny got a bad feeling looking at the board. "Ron. We need to find the Map. Now."

Ron and Ginny ran up the stairs to the sixth year boys dormitory, leaving Hermione behind them to climb the stairs as quickly as she could. When the reached the room, Ron stopped by his bed. "What's this doing here?" He held up Harry's Firebolt, which had been lying on Ron's bed.

"Figure it out, Ron!" Ginny shouted. "Where is the Map?"

"In the trunk. Under my Quidditch stuff," he replied as he stared at the broom.

Ginny threw open Ron's trunk and started rummaging for the Map. She pulled it out a second later and scanned it for Harry's dot. "Found him!" she called out as Hermione walked into the room. He's on the stairs going down into the Entrance Hall. "He's probably going to go find us."

"Er... Ginny," Ron said, "I think you ought to look at this."

Ginny turned to glare at Ron, but stopped when she saw Hermione almost shaking with fear as she stared at something in Harry's bed. She walked over to get a better look and felt her heart stop.

Carved into the headboard of Harry's bed was a set of deep cuts which formed the shape of a lightning bolt. Beside it, the knife used to make the cuts, the one he got on his birthday, was stuck deeply into the wood.

Ginny jerked the Map open again and searched for Harry. He was in the Trophy Room and walking toward the far end. What was he doing there? As he reached the end of the room, his dot stopped briefly before vanishing completely.

Ginny let out a yelp and dropped the map. Harry disappeared. He was gone. How had he just disappeared? Suddenly, she remembered what was at the far end of the Trophy Room: the Triwizard Tournament Cup. Harry had left to face Voldemort. She turned and ran for the door. She had no idea what she could do, but running and screaming seemed as good as anything else. As she reached the door, she found it blocked by a number of wizards.

"Is something wrong, Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked her in a gentle voice. "I was hoping to find Harry."

"He's gone," she told him. "He... disappeared. I think the Triwizard Cup was a Portkey." Her voice sounded empty and hollow in her own ears. She expected Dumbledore to turn and run out of the room, or to start shouting orders to the Aurors behind him, but he merely looked thoughtful for a moment and then slowly walked to Harry's bed.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

Dumbledore leaned close to the knife stuck in the headboard, studying it as if it might tell him something. "We can only wait."

"We're not going to do _anything_?"

"That is not what I said, Ginny," answered Dumbledore. "I said we were going to wait. What other course of action would you suggest?"

"He went to find Voldemort, right?" Hermione asked. "Do we have any idea where he might be?"

"Somewhere in northern Scotland, I'd wager," Dumbledore said calmly as he ran his finger over the mark in the headboard. "We didn't expect they'd be using Portkeys however, so in theory, there is no limit to how far away they might truly be. My instincts tell me that they are not so far away that we could not find them, but far enough that we would not."

A cold anger swept up Ginny's spine. She glared at the headmaster, no longer caring who he was. "So you're just going to sit here and wait for Voldemort to announce Harry's death? You've stood by him all this time, and at the moment he needs you most, you're just going to sit and _wait_? You're not even going to _try_?"

Dumbledore turned to face Ginny. It might have made her feel better if he'd been angry with her. Or even if he'd looked sad. Instead, the calm acceptance she saw on his face just felled her anger even more.

"That outcome is not certain," he said quietly, "and this confrontation could not be avoided. I'm certain that you know that as well as Harry does. I had hoped to delay it as long as prudence would allow, but there is nothing I could have done to prevent it from happening. I am told I am an old and powerful wizard. I have been known to toy with time on occasion—" he said, pausing to wink at Hermione "—and I know some tricks even Voldemort hasn't discovered, but I cannot twist fate, and I cannot redirect the path laid before Harry."

"You're giving up, just like him," Ginny said. An icy wave of fear hit her as she remembered the chess board downstairs. Harry had given up. He'd left, thinking he'd already lost and that facing Voldemort was the only thing left to do. "No..." she said out loud. "No, you've got to stop him. He's not going to fight. He thinks he already lost!" She turned to look at Ron and Hermione who were sitting on Ron's bed. Hermione was crying.

"I do not believe that Harry will surrender once he comes face to face with Tom Riddle. I do not think it is something he is even capable of."

"You have to _try_!" Ginny shouted desperately.

"Any attempt would be doomed to fail, Ginny. Harry is our only chance of defeating Voldemort. He alone has the ability to accomplish the ultimate goal that so many have worked and died for. We must give him that one chance to end all of this suffering."

"How long will it be before we know?" Ron asked shakily.

"No one can be certain," Dumbledore answered. "Though I expect we will find out tonight if Voldemort still exists. The attack at St. Mungo's was only the start. There will be more, and soon if he is not stopped."

Ron and Dumbledore kept talking but Ginny didn't hear them over the ringing in her ears. Dumbledore wasn't listening. He didn't know Harry like she did. Even if Harry didn't surrender, he had no chance of defeating Tom. In his mind, he'd already lost.

Why did he have to go alone? Why didn't he take Dumbledore with him? If he had to face Voldemort, why not wait and bring the Order? She stared at the mark carved into Harry's headboard, trying to understand what had made Harry leave? Certainly Claire's death was part of it, but many people had died that day, and many had died before.

There was, perhaps, only one answer. He must have just learned the Triwizard Cup was a Portkey. With the deaths of Claire and everyone else at St. Mungo's he must have just decided to leave before anyone returned to stop him. Ginny turned back to find everyone filing out of the room. They were all giving up. They were just going to sit around and wait.

Harry was right. As she walked down the stairs, she remembered what he'd said the morning before Hermione had been attacked. There never really had been any hope. Harry had simply done what Ginny had always wanted him to. Instead of hiding and waiting like Dumbledore was going to do, he was going to face danger and fight, even if there was no hope. He'd given up on the game, now it was time to finish the war.

Everyone seemed to be walking with purpose. Dumbledore was probably calling a meeting of the Order. Ginny quietly asked Hermione and she confirmed that a meeting had been called, and they were all going to the Room of Requirement, where everyone was assembling.

The thought of simply sitting around and waiting made her want to scream. Harry had been gone for only a few minutes and it was already unbearable. As they all neared the Room of Requirements, she knew what she had to do. She could never wait. She had to find him. She had to at least look. Dumbledore said Tom was probably nearby, but he wasn't even willing to try looking.

When they reached the door, they found Lupin waiting for them. As he ushered everyone in, Ginny stopped. "I should go get the Map," she declared as she turned and walked off as quickly as she could, hoping Lupin wouldn't know to stop her. When she turned the corner, she broke into a run. She had to get back to the Tower.

She burst into her dormitory minutes later, and tossed clothes wildly from her trunk until she found a heavier cloak to wear. It had been warm that afternoon, but the sun was going down soon and it would be cold flying when the clouds formed. Ginny grabbed her broom but frowned at it. Maybe she should take Harry's Firebolt? She needed it more than Ron. She tossed the broom back on her bed and ran to Harry's dormitory.

She grabbed the Firebolt from Ron's bed. It was the faster broom, of course. She could cover more ground. She looked at the window by Harry's bed. If she could break it, she could leave immediately. She ran to it, pulled out her wand, but stopped as she looked at the sky. It was darker than she remembered it. How much time had passed? Ten minutes? The attack in the Department of Mysteries had only lasted fifteen minutes. Even if she left now, there was no chance of her finding Harry in time.

She screamed out of fear and anger. She had promised to help Harry, and now he'd left her and made sure there was no way for her to follow. She threw the Firebolt back where it had been, leaving a small dent in Ron's headboard. She wanted to scream again, but her throat was tight and dry. She felt large hot tears rolling down her cheeks. He'd left her, and now they were both alone.

Harry would die alone, she thought as she collapsed onto his bed. She wouldn't of course. Pince was right. Tom would know what she did. He would take pleasure in knowing that he was keeping them apart. Eventually he might make a mistake and kill her, but it would take quite some time for that to happen. Maybe if she pretended to give herself up again, she could get one of the Death Eaters to kill her.

Through her tears, it seemed like a good enough plan. She would go wait by the tree again. Maybe some of the Death Eaters were still there. Or maybe they would come back after Harry was dead. Ginny paused. It was actually a pretty good plan. The Death Eaters had Portkeys. They probably went the same place Harry had gone. She just had to find one.

Wiping away her tears, she pulled he cloak tight around her. With the Order meeting and the students still in the Great Hall, she should be able to leave easily. The only question was whether she would find anything. Pince had meant to leave. If she was leaving, then the other Death Eaters might have already gone, too. Still, it was worth—

Ginny gave a quick shriek as she stumbled across the answer. Had anyone remembered? It was probably still there. They'd all been so worried about Claire that no one had even thought about it.

She'd need something to get the door open. The Aurors had sealed it until Dumbledore had time to check the room. She looked about the room, and found something that would work. With her heart pounding in her chest, she wrapped her hands around the handle of the knife, and pulled as hard as she could. To her surprise, it slid out easily. She stared at the mark Harry had left. It had always been the symbol of his exile, his loneliness, and everything bad that had ever happened to him. As she stared at it, she felt a white hot anger replacing the despair. She'd join him. She'd fight. He wouldn't do it alone. It would be one last surprise for Tom, and if they failed, they'd fail together.

She ran as fast as she could. It hadn't been long, but every minute counted now. The corridors were empty, and she took the fastest route she knew. Finally she saw her goal.

The door to the library was shut, and a metal bar embedded in the stone archway looped around the handle , preventing anyone from opening the door. Ginny pulled out the knife and grasped it tightly. She pushed the knife into the first part of the bar. It took all the strength she had, but the knife finally cut through the metal and sent a sharp, metallic ring echoing down the hallway.

She put the knife to the second half of the loop and pressed as hard as she could. The metal bent and groaned as the knife made its way through the metal, but stopped about halfway through. She wrenched the knife free, expecting to see a dull notch in the blade. Instead, it was perfectly sharp. Her arm, however, was shaking from the strain. She tried to breathe and get ready for a second try.

"Hey there!" someone called out from behind her. "That door's sealed for a reason, you know!" It was an Auror. Ginny ignored him and immediately put the knife back in the notch.

"What are you doing?" the Auror called. He was running toward her now. "That room's out of bounds! Dumbledore hasn't checked it!" he shouted.

With a shout, Ginny put all her weight onto the knife and was rewarded by a dangerous sounding snap and the sound of the metal loop ringing off the stone floor. She threw her weight against the door and it slowly opened. When it was open just a foot, she slipped through and ran for Pince's desk.

Without a sheath, she was forced to wrap the knife in one of Harry's old shirts. She stuffed it into her pocket and pulled out her wand. The Auror's footsteps were growing louder; she didn't have much time. She looked at the table in the dim light, trying to remember where it was.

"_Finite Incantatem!_"

Nothing happened. It still had to be here. No one had any time to remove it. It simply had to be there.

"_Finite Incantatem!_" she shouted again, aiming at a different area of the desk. With a crash, the Auror threw open the Library door.

"Stop!" he shouted. "This room isn't safe. Leave— Hold on. Didn't you hear? Dumbledore's called a meeting."

Ginny ignored him again. Laying on its side beside a stack of books was a small golden cup, an exact miniature of the Triwizard Cup. She reached for it, pausing to take a few deep breaths. Who knows where she would appear when she touched it.

"Hey there, what's that?" the Auror said as he walked toward her.

"Sorry," Ginny said sincerely. Her hand closed around the cup, and she felt the familiar sensation of being pulled stomach-first into empty blackness.

* * *

The Room of Requirements was quickly filling with people. It wasn't just the Order of the Phoenix, now, but many of the senior Aurors. Of course, after what the Aurors had seen, many of them might indeed have chosen to join the Order. 

Hermione had immediately taken a seat. She felt much better than she had that morning, but something told her that night would be a long one, and she didn't want to be stuck stumbling after people as they walked about the castle.

Dumbledore was standing in the center of the room talking to three people at once. Ron was talking with Bill and Charlie. Fred and George had just arrived. They'd been forced to conjure more chairs to sit in and Lupin was still letting more people into the room.

When she found Ron again, he was walking toward her with his brothers. They sat down, and Ron reluctantly took a seat next to her. Bill and Charlie both greeted her warmly despite the circumstances.

"Where is Ginny?" Bill asked as he craned his neck over the crowd. "I can't imagine she's taking this well."

"I don't think she is," Hermione replied. "The last I saw of her she was talking to Lupin outside the door. She probably doesn't want everyone pitying her."

"That's fair, I guess," Bill said. "Still, I think I'll see how she's doing."

Hermione sat in a awkward silence with Ron and Charlie. Charlie seemed to sense something was wrong between them, but thankfully didn't ask. It was the last thing Hermione wanted to think of at the time. She just wanted the meeting to start so someone could explain what was going to be happening. She heard the door close, and watched as Lupin and Bill walked quickly toward her. They looked worried.

"Hermione, do you know where Ginny was going?" Lupin asked quickly.

"Er... no. I thought she was with you."

"No, she told me that she was going back to fetch the Map. She left ten minutes ago."

"Maybe she's just didn't want to be at the meeting?" Hermione said. "I don't think she's very pleased with Dumbledore, and... well, Harry's gone."

"I'm going to go check on her," Bill announced. He turned and started walking off. "I'll go with you," Ron said as he stood up and followed. Lupin turned to walk with them, leaving Charlie there in case Ginny would return. Ron opened the door and paused. He looked back at Hermione. "Well? Aren't you coming?" Hermione took a deep breath, stood and walked quickly to the door. She could make it to the Tower and back. She'd done it once already.

"Bill? Remus?" Dumbledore called as the walked out the door. Lupin stopped to hear what Dumbledore had to say.

"Is there a problem?" Dumbledore asked from the center of the room.

"Probably not," Lupin replied. "Ginny Weasley left and hasn't returned."

From just outside the door, Hermione could see the look on Dumbledore's face. Within seconds he was at the door and leading the way back to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione tried to keep up as best she could, but she'd fallen behind eventually. Ron stayed with her and as they watched Dumbledore enter the common room, Arthur and Molly Weasley passed them.

Everyone was making their way up the stairs by the time Ron and Hermione got to the common room. Molly was climbing the stairs to the girls' dormitories, but everyone else was headed to the boys' dormitories. Hermione followed them, not wanting to have to walk up the stairs alone.

She knew before they reached the room that Ginny wasn't there. It was completely silent in the room. As she stepped into the room, she could feel the tension. Arthur was pacing along the far wall where Harry had liked to look out of the window. Lupin and Bill were sitting on Ron's bed staring at the floor.

"The Map, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said with obvious urgency. "Where is it?"

Ron stepped around Hermione and threw open his trunk. While he rummaged through his trunk, she saw the reason for everyone's concern. All she could do was stare. Whatever it meant, she was certain that it wasn't good. Ron finally pulled the Map out of his trunk and held it out for Dumbledore.

"_Accio Map_!" Lupin shouted. The Map jumped from Ron's finger and sailed toward Lupin, who caught it deftly. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," he said as he tapped it with his wand. He started scanning the map quickly, while everyone waited.

"What does that mean?" Bill asked as he pointed at the headboard of Harry's bed. There was a deep notch where the knife had been, next to it was the lightning bolt Harry had carved into the wood, and around the lightning bolt, someone else had carved the rough shape of a heart.

"I do not know," Dumbledore answered, "But I fear it may mean that Ginny has left to do something terribly dangerous."

"She's in the library with one of the Aurors, His name is Martins," Lupin announced. "I don't even know how they got in there. The Aurors locked the door." Dumbledore didn't say anything, he just stared at the map. "Is there any way for us to tell Martins to stay with her?" Lupin asked.

"She's not in her dormitory," Molly panted as she walked into the room, holding her side. "I see she's not here, either."

"I'm afraid she's left the castle, Molly," Dumbledore said as he dropped the Map on Harry's trunk.

"No, I just saw her in the Library," Lupin said as he grabbed the Map.

Arthur stopped pacing and stared at Dumbledore. "What do you mean, she's left?"

"He means that she's gone," Lupin said flatly as he stared at the map. "She was just here, in the Library, and now she's gone. It's just Martins now."

"Well, she can't Apparate," Molly said as she squinted at the headboard. "Is that Harry's bed? What's that he carved into it?"

Dumbledore sat down on Harry's bed, and stared out the window. "If I had to guess—" Dumbledore started, sounding even more tired than Hermione felt, "I would guess that it is a message, telling us why Harry and Ginny have both left."

"But _how_ did Ginny leave?" Lupin asked, still giving the Map confused looks.

"Beyond Harry and Ginny, I would guess the castle is missing three more things. One is the Triwizard Cup, the Portkey that Harry took to face Voldemort. Another is the knife which was, earlier tonight, stuck deeply in that headboard, and was used more recently to open the library door."

"The last object would be a small golden trophy, a miniature copy of the Triwizard Cup," Dumbledore said as he looked at Lupin. "It disappeared yesterday, enraging our former librarian. I am nearly certain that it was recovered by the only person who remembered its existence or knew what had become of it."

"Ginny... but why?" Molly choked.

"I would guess that she believes she might be able to somehow affect Harry's fate."

"What can we do?" Arthur asked heavily. "Is there anything that _can_ be done?"

"Perhaps nothing," Dumbledore replied, "but there is nothing to be lost if we try. It is very possible that she did not travel to the same destination that Harry did, and if so, we may find her before the Death Eaters. We'll send out the Aurors —all who are willing to go— and hope that they might find something."

His voice sounded encouraging, but when Hermione looked into his eyes she saw the same despair and defeat everyone else seemed to feel. She felt empty and hopeless. In her heart, she knew that their reactions were correct. It was too soon. Harry didn't have a chance, and if Voldemort found Ginny, she would only be used against him.

The others slowly walked out of the room, leaving her and Ron alone. He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his face buried in his hands. Slowly he pushed off the bandages on his head and threw them to the ground.

"So that's it, then?" he said as he stared at the bandages. "How long do you suppose we'll have to wait?"

Hermione collapsed onto the bed. "I don't expect it will matter," she replied. "It'll probably be much shorter than we'd like." She tried to swallow, but found it harder than it should have been. "Why'd he have to go?" she asked. "Why... why now? Why couldn't he—" She tried to finish, but her throat caught as the first sobs escaped her mouth.

Finally, like everyone else, Hermione gave up. Ron wiped away her tears, but they kept coming. She and Ron should be with him. They always had been. In her heart, she already knew what was coming. Lord Voldemort hated Mudbloods, and he would hate her above all the others.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

I know everyone was looking forward to Harry getting together with his friends, having all of them stand in a circle with their fists together and shout "Go, Planet!" before running off and kicking the tar out of Voldemort.Instead, you got Harry blinking off to meet Voldemort, and Ginny teleporting herself off to hope she can find him.

I can understand if some of you are disappointed.

But really, I could have made it worse. Right? I'm not sure exactly how I would have done that, but I assume I could have. At least he's going off to fight instead of hiding in some closet. Sure, he's alone and depressed, and probably thinking that he can't possibly win, but at least he's taken responsibility for his future, right?

I'll give out one last teaser (I expect it to be the last):

* * *

It was impossible to tell just how large the hall was, but a large hole in the ceiling above it let in a shaft of sickly green light that illuminated a single table in its center. Harry walked forward warily, curious about a large object set on the table. As he neared it, he noticed that it was a book, laying on its front cover. He reluctantly turned it over to look at its title.

_A Study of Permanent Magical Maladies._

Harry's hand jerked back as if he'd been scalded. As he backed away, the room filled with a high-pitched hissing laughter.

"Such a useful book," Voldemort laughed as he stepped from the shadows on Harry's left. "And quite rare. I was quite pleased that Pince was willing to get it for me." He laughed again as he picked up the book and casually leafed through the pages. "Dumbledore thought he was the only one with spies, and all that time, he ignored her, the only one left who understood her ancestry and how important that is."

* * *

Now, there are a couple important things to remember about the ending. Well, I guess for now there is only one important thing to remember: _This_ chapter used to be the ending. There was nothing after it. That was the end.

So, as you read the ending, remember that no matter what you think, it could have been much, much worse.

I think that's the best way to prepare you for now.


	49. Ranoch Abbey

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 49 - Ranoch Abbey**

* * *

Harry stared into the darkening sky. The sun had already fell behind the trees, and the shadows were growing. It shouldn't have been a problem, but then, he hadn't expected to find himself in the middle of a forest, with nothing around him but trees taller than he could see. 

Where was Voldemort? Where were the Death Eaters? When he'd grabbed the cup, he'd fully expected to find himself on the grass near the graveyard at Little Hangleton. Instead he was lost in some forest, without any clue of where he was supposed to go, if indeed there was anywhere for him to go.

Did Voldemort just want to trick me to leave the castle? He tried to imagine what purpose that might serve as he walked aimlessly up the gentle slope in the land. No, his mind told him, he was the one Voldemort was interested in. For whatever reason, this was where he was supposed to be.

It felt odd, wherever he was. There was something creepy and unsettling about this place, but it wasn't at all because of the trees or sky. Something told him that Voldemort was nearby. There was a certain tense feeling in the air, a feeling as if the trees around him were about to close in on him at any moment.

He kept walking, not really knowing where he was going, but wanting to keep moving. There was no path, and no sign of any break in the trees. The only really discernible feature in the dim light was a gentle sloping of the land to his right. Figuring that the view from higher up couldn't be any worse than what he had now, he turned and started heading up the slope. With any luck, he'd have some idea of where that might be once he reached the top of whatever hill or ridge he was slowly climbing.

He stopped to take a breath when he finally felt the land sloping downward away from him. He was at the top. He stopped to look around. Judging by the treetops around him, he was on the lip of some small valley in the middle of a set of hills. To either side of him, dark shadows continued rising, outlining two hills against the twilight. The dark valley below was completely featureless except for a small clearing.

As he squinted into the dusk, another shape appeared. Nestled in the center of the clearing were the tumbled remains of a pair of towers, one standing slightly taller than the other, both scarred and blacked by fire. It was impossible to be certain, but towers large enough to stand above the trees would probably be attached to a large building. At the very least, it would be someplace for him to try and get his bearings.

As he started climbing down the inner slope of the valley, the ground under his feet was lit up by a flash of green. Acting more out of instinct than actual concern, Harry crouched to the ground and pulled his wand from his pocket. The sight he saw when he looked up made it nearly impossible to swallow.

Hanging over the ruined towers was a luminous green skull with a snake crawling grotesquely from its mouth. For a moment, he felt as if he'd been struck in the chest. Voldemort was there, and even more importantly, Voldemort knew he was here.

Harry finally forced himself to swallow. This was what he'd come for: to end it. He had expected Voldemort to be waiting for him, and now he was. There really wasn't any point in waiting or running now. Harry climbed down the slope slowly, but without hesitation.

The towers disappeared as he reached the valley floor. It was only momentary, however, as it took only a few minutes before Harry had walked into the wide clearing where they stood. Now that he stood before them, it was obvious that his earlier guess was correct. The towers made up the bulk of the broken facade of what looked to be an ancient cathedral.

Most of the stonework that faced him was cracked and charred, but any major damage seemed to be patched with lighter stonework which was obviously newer, yet itself quite old. Stretching behind the stone front was a weather beaten wooden structure that managed to look both sturdy and completely run down at the same time. The whole building was littered with bits of branches and moss and the odd plant that had found some suitable surface to grow on.

Beyond its appearance, there was a certain loathsome feeling emanating from the cathedral that unnerved Harry. The whole forest had a oddly familiar dread that seemed to cling to it, but the cathedral was now a beacon of malice that overshadowed it. Not having any other plan, Harry walked for the main door.

The door was flanked by a pair of stone knights, one holding a set of scales, and the other holding a large axe. Over the door were the worn shapes of hundreds of figurines, long since eroded past any recognition. Harry was surprised to see the door still on its hinges, and wondered for a moment how he would open them.

To his surprise, they opened with a firm tug, wide enough at least for him to slip in. He walked into what seemed to be a small, empty chamber. There were heavy doors to either side of him, which probably led to the ruined towers. In front of him was another set of large wooden doors, though these were ominously clean and smooth. With another tug, the right hand door opened, and Harry slowly walked into the next room.

It was impossible to tell just how large the hall was. The walls were buried in darkness. The only light in the hall came from a large hole in the ceiling over which let in a shaft of sickly green light that illuminated a single table sitting in the center of the hall. Harry walked forward warily, curious about a large object set on the table. As he neared it, he noticed that it was a book, lying on its front cover. He reluctantly turned it over to look at its title.

___A Study of Permanent Magical Maladies_

Harry's hand jerked back as if he'd been scalded. As he backed away, the room filled with a high-pitched hissing laughter.

"Such a useful book," Voldemort laughed as he stepped from the shadows on Harry's left. "And quite rare. I was quite pleased that Pince was so willing to get it for me." He laughed again as he picked up the book and casually leafed through the pages. "Dumbledore thought he was the only one with spies and all that time he ignored her, a remnant from wiser days, the only one left who understood her ancestry and how important that is."

"But you're only a half-blood," Harry challenged.

Voldemort laughed and held his hand up to the sickly green glow, as if he were admiring it. "It is bizarre how fate works, isn't it?" he replied with sinister smile. "That a witch who could barely predict the coming of the full moon could so clearly see the result of events that had not even been put in motion? Events that would not have been put in motion, had she not seen them. Who could have imagined that two half-bloods would lead the fight between real wizards and those tainted with Muggle blood. And yet, here we are!" he called out to ceiling as he spread his arms wide and basked in the eerie glow of the Dark Mark.

"I admit, I had expected you to bring at least the Weasley boy with you. Bellatrix spent quite some time enchanting those trees to rip apart any companions you might bring. She was quite... disappointed —for a short time." Harry watched silently as another smile pulled at the corners of Voldemort's mouth and a tingle went through Harry's stomach. "You were supposed to be blood-soaked and filled with rage when you opened that door, but it really doesn't matter, does it Potter?"

"Your plans haven't been working very well lately," Harry taunted.

"Well enough," Voldemort snapped. "Your friends proved more resilient than I anticipated. At first, I was afraid it would be something of a problem, but I've discovered that it too has its uses."

Harry heard muffled steps coming toward him quickly, and he stepped to the side as a shape leapt from the shadows toward his feet. It hit the ground hard, letting out a pained shriek. Before he could figure out who it was, a second set of steps echoed through the hall.

"Welcome, _Harry_," Bellatrix sneered. "We've been waiting so _eagerly_ for you to arrive."

Harry felt his stomach roll as he looked at her. She strode forward and roughly pulled the body from the floor. His heart froze as Bellatrix pulled back the hood on the heavy cloak to reveal a mane of flame red hair.

"I'm sorry," Ginny choked as Bellatrix jerked her head back with one hand. A long dagger flashed in the other, and in a second, the point was pressed into Ginny's chin. Harry recognized the blade immediately. He should have destroyed it long ago.

"She's sorry," Bellatrix mimicked as a drop of blood traveled down the knife. "At least she was considerate enough to bring us a gift. Rastaban and Rodolphus have always been fond of knives. A pity they will not arrive in time to thank you. I suppose a brief nod to your corpses will have to do."

Harry whirled on Voldemort, who was smiling. "Let her go," he demanded. I'm the one you wanted, and I'm here. Let her go."

"You've made such a disappointing pupil. Still clinging to love. Still acting on foolish emotion. Still believing that there is a point to all of it."

"Let—Her—Go!" Harry said as forcefully as he could. He heard a muffled shriek and turned to see Bellatrix slowly pressing the knife into Ginny's chin, letting another crimson trail of blood roll down the knife and over her hand.

"I'll let her go soon enough," Bellatrix sneered. "When the life has drained from her body and she's too weak to curse you for causing all of this."

He jerked his wand from his pocket and took aim at Bellatrix's forehead. "_Impedi—_"

His voice was cut off with a gurgle as any icy cold hand closed around his throat like a vise.

"Enough!" Voldemort shouted as he turned Harry back to look into his serpentine eyes. "Tell me how it ends, Potter. The Prophecy must have told you that we would face each other. So tell me how it ends. Is this what you imagined? Is this what the crone babbled about?"

Harry could barely breathe, but he forced himself to remain calm and keep staring at Voldemort. He wouldn't give in. He came to fight and fail, not to surrender. If he was lucky, he'd be able to get off a few spells, and maybe even incinerate the book that had been the root of so much of his pain. He just needed a distraction. With all the concentration he had, he focused on the book. It might be enough to simply drop it from the table. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it slide a fraction of an inch. It just might work.

Suddenly, he heard a scream slice through the air. His eyes strained to see what had happened, but the green light was dimming, and Ginny and Bellatrix weren't were they had been. There was the sound of bodies hitting stone, and the metallic ringing of steel as the knife slid across the floor.

"_Ledus!_"

A jet of silver sparks shot across Harry's vision. In the flash of light, he saw Ginny diving for the knife as Bellatrix kept her wand on her. The hex was poorly aimed, and Harry caught the glint of the blade as Ginny snatched the knife up off the stone floor.

The grip on his neck tightened until it was suffocating him. He could no longer see where Ginny was, but she had to be close. A second later, he heard the sickening sound of the knife plunging into flesh. In an instant, he was released and sprawling on the ground, gasping for air. Voldemort was still standing over him, with the knife Bill and Charlie gave Harry stuck deeply between his ribs. Ginny was still holding the hilt, with a shocked look on her face.

"Foolish girl!" Voldemort shouted. "You know you cannot kill me." With a single, swift movement, he grabbed her head and threw her to the ground next to Harry. They watched in amazement as Voldemort slowly drew the knife from his side and scowled at it before dropping it to the floor.

"I should have expected this," he said with obvious distaste. "She was a fine witch, Potter. Powerful, clever, independent, in some ways more wise than even the great Dumbledore, and pure of blood. But behold what has become of her! Love has weakened her. Her love of you and her Mudblood friends has bought her a fate she cannot escape now. She could have run. She could have hidden. She even could have saved herself. She would have been very useful to me, but she has cast it all aside for love, and for that, she will die."

"So kill us!" Ginny shouted. "Do it!"

"And risk using my wand against Potters, or invoking more of Dumbledore's magic? No, I do not think I will be attacking either of you."

"You're a coward!" Ginny shouted. Harry's throat still felt tight and raw. He wanted to shout something to let Ginny know that she wasn't alone, but all he could do was cough.

"We will see who is afraid, little Ginevra," Voldemort replied ominously. "I _will_ kill you both, but not until the Dementors are finished with you. You'll both die in the fire, but you'll be empty shells long before then. Be thankful for this," he told Ginny. "Your resourcefulness has earned you a quicker death than anything I had imagined." He turned to Bellatrix. "Call them!"

Bellatrix pointed her wand at the large opening in the ceiling, and shot a fountain of green sparks into the night sky. There was a minute of tense silence before Harry felt the world growing colder. Any hope he had of saving Ginny fled from the sounds of his mother's screams.

As Harry pulled himself to his feet, the first of the Dementors arrived, floating slowly from the shadows. They seemed to appear from everywhere. "Dementors. They're quite obedient if you understand them," Voldemort explained. "This place was once the home of a powerful wizard. The wards still prevent Dementors from approaching—" he paused to smile, "—unless, of course, the master of the cathedral permits it. The original agreement had been for just a single Kiss, but plans often change, and they were not at all upset by the extra work."

Harry's legs shook as cold beads of sweat collected on his forehead. He screamed inside his own mind, but it was little more than a strangled gasp when it reached his mouth. He had to fight. Even if he couldn't win, he couldn't let it end like this.

Ginny was still lying on the ground. Her skin was sickly pale, and she looked to be writhing in pain. Harry tried to concentrate. If he could just summon a Patronus, he might at least allow them to die fighting. His arm quivered as he pointed it at one of the closest Dementors.

"_Expecto—_"

Suddenly, his wand was gone. Voldemort had simply grabbed it and tossed it to the ground. Before Harry could make any move for it, he felt a hand clutching the back of his neck and holding him where he was.

"No more escapes, Potter," Voldemort hissed. "No more running, no mother to protect you, and no old wizards to rescue you." The Dementors were quite close now. He could hear their slow, rattling breathing all around him. "The girl first. Before they take his soul, I want him to understand the results of all his mistakes."

Bellatrix stepped forward to yank Ginny from the floor. She took Ginny's wand and tossed it on the floor near Harry's, before holding Ginny by the neck just like Voldemort was doing with him.

Harry struggled against Voldemort's icy grip. His hand was much stronger than Harry could have imagined. As the first Dementor reached out to grab Ginny's shoulder, he stopped struggling. This was it. Ginny's eyes had already rolled back into their sockets, and she stood limp in Bellatrix's grasp.

"I love you," he choked out, hoping that Ginny might still hear him. In his mind, he started remembering the last year and how much had changed between them. He remembered how odd he'd felt when he'd seen her on his birthday, and the butterflies in his stomach when they'd kissed on Halloween. At least he had that time with her. At least he hadn't been forced to do it alone.

Something had changed. Harry's eyes snapped open to see a number of Dementors staring at him, not Ginny. Ginny's eyes were open again, and she was struggling against Bellatrix. His view of their struggle was eclipsed a moment later as the Dementors advanced on him quickly.

With one last smile, he understood what had happened. The moment of happiness he felt, the short burst of love he'd felt for Ginny had called to the Dementors. It was too strong for them to ignore. They would take him first. It was small consolation, but it was something. Even at the end, Harry was fighting and ruining Voldemort's plans.

He heard screaming. There was always screaming, only this time he knew it wasn't his mother. It was Ginny. Harry's world darkened as the Dementors surrounded him. His arms groped the darkness instinctively, searching for anything that might protect him. His left arm struck something and Harry forced his eyes open. As the Dementors leaned in, Harry could see Voldemort's crimson eyes laughing at him.

With the last bit of his strength, Harry reached out wrap his hands around Voldemort's throat. It was a pointless attempt, but it was all he had left. He couldn't see anymore. His scar felt as if it were splitting his whole skull open, and the scar on his arm from the graveyard two years ago was blazing hot. He felt a slight lurch as a Dementor's clammy hand clutched his shoulder, then another something hit him. It was Ginny. He could still hear her begging for his life. It didn't matter anymore. This was how it was supposed to end.

Harry felt all happiness and emotion bleeding out of him. It wouldn't be much longer. They would move on to Ginny next. At least he wouldn't have to watch, and Voldemort would have to know that Harry had thwarted him one last time.

He felt weak and numb. The last remnants of anything pleasant left him, leaving only pain and an intense anger. Voldemort was laughing at him. It wasn't enough for him to win. Harry could hear him, gloating in his head.

"This is the only way it was ever going to end, Potter. You knew that the moment you ran in the graveyard. We won't be seeing each other again."

His head was filled with screams as the world spun away from him. Darkness consumed him and he fell into a terrifying nothingness.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Well, you got what you asked for: Harry and Ginny, together and fighting Voldemort. Was it everything you hoped it would be? Was it everything you came to expect?

Of course, there is still one last chapter, but everyone should go and copy down my email address now, so it'll be easier to send off your questions and complaints (or praise, if you're like that) once you finish the last chapter on Friday.


	50. The Coming Storm

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

_Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies_

**CHAPTER 50 - A Coming Storm**

* * *

The hall was dark and silent. The Dark Mark had faded. The Dementors had left. There were only four occupants left in the room, and two of them were lying limp and all but lifeless on the stone floor. A light flared in the darkness as one of the dark figures held a wand aloft. 

"It's done," a voice echoed to the rafters above them all. A moment later, there was a response.

"You're certain?"

"He is all but dead now. The Dementors feed off pleasant emotions: love, hope, celebration. They could not resist, and without him, nothing could stop them from taking her as well."

After a brief pause, a second wand lit up, and a pale light shone off the dusty floor of the hall. "They've all left."

"They've fulfilled their agreement. They have driven off by the wards. Let them wander. They will keep the Aurors busy."

"The Aurors are coming?"

"Dumbledore will come, but the Aurors will find this place first."

"And we will wait here for them?"

"No... No, there will be no _here_ for them find. Burn it down. I want this place destroyed."

"And the bodies?"

"Burn them. Burn them both. Burn it all."

"But... the others— If they don't see the body... They might not believe that he is truly dead."

"They will believe it when I tell them."

"And Dumbledore?"

"He will learn the truth for himself."

"We should at least take the wands, they—"

"No. Destroy it all. Especially the wands."

"What about Rodolphus and Rabastan?"

"This place will be an inferno when they arrive. By morning, it will be a smoldering ruin. It will be forgotten, simply another ruined home of a another wizard too weak to conquer death."

* * *

Dumbledore looked very old and very tired as he stood before them. Hogwarts had been sealed ever since the Aurors had left to search for Ginny and Harry. Most of the students had been staying in their common rooms, but most of the D.A. had been permitted to leave to attend the meeting. The Order was there, too, as well as quite a few of the Aurors. 

Hermione had been sitting silently next to Ron since the meeting had been announced. They hadn't spoken, and yet she felt as if things had somehow improved between them since last night. Perhaps it wouldn't matter. Dumbledore had been tight lipped about anything he'd learned, and according to the Marauder's Map, he'd spent the entire morning sitting in his office staring at one of his walls.

As she looked around the room, everyone seemed to be in a similar mood. After Dumbledore sent out the Aurors the night before, he'd told the Order that they should know what had happened sometime that night. Most of the Aurors had come back after only a few hours, and those who hadn't, never came back at all. They seemed to have found something, but no one was talking about it. It wasn't a good sign. It was especially discouraging considering Dumbledore's recent and current behavior.

"Last night, after only two hours of searching, one of the teams of Aurors found something of interest," Dumbledore started to explain. "An old cathedral some distance south of here, Ranoch Abbey, was found ruined and burning. We believe that Harry and Voldemort faced each other there. It seems quite likely that Miss Weasley was also nearby."

Dumbledore paused to adjust his glasses. "There were quite a few Dementors in the area. The first to arrive were not prepared to face the number they found in the hills around the abbey. By time the Dementors were turned back, there was nothing left of the abbey."

"How do you know Voldemort was even there?" Lupin asked.

"The Aurors captured Rabastan Lestrange lurking around the burning rubble. Under the influence of Veritaserum he revealed that he was ordered to report there to Voldemort himself. His brother had been with him, but the Dementors were acting more feral than usual that night and they turned on Rodolphus."

"So where is Harry?" Lupin blurted out, finally asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

"I do not know, Remus," Dumbledore answered as he stared at the floor. "Rasbastan was certain that Voldemort was there, and I am certain that Harry went to face him, yet they both seem to have simply disappeared. I think we have to consider the possibility that they both died in the confrontation."

"What about Ginny?" Bill asked.

"I'm afraid we haven't found any sign that Ginny was even there. It does however seem quite likely, considering what Rabastan said. I believe Ranoch Abbey is likely the location from which all movement to and from Hogwarts was organized. If the Portkey Miss Weasley took was indeed intended for Death Eater use, it probably took her here. Of course, if Voldemort is gone, there may yet be some chance that she is alive."

"How do we know that Voldemort is gone?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked. "What makes you certain that he would announce his victory?"

"Nothing, I'm afraid," Dumbledore responded. "There have been two more Death Eater attacks this morning, both on the families of Muggle-born Ministry officials, and Death Eaters have been reported across all of Britain. However, I refuse to accept the possibility that Voldemort still lives."

"Why?" Shacklebolt asked. "If the attacks haven't stopped, then—"

"Because if he is still alive, then there is nothing any of us can do."

* * *

For a short period of time, the wizarding world seemed to be in a state of shock. No one seemed to know just what to do. There had been an immediate increase in attacks, but it was cut off abruptly only two days after Harry disappeared. The _Daily Prophet_ reported that Voldemort and Harry had managed to destroy each other when their fighting brought Ranoch Abbey down around them, while the _Quibbler_ ran a story claiming that the confrontation never happened at all, and that the whole thing was a story baked up by the Ministry to make everyone feel safe. 

Whatever safety they felt was shattered a few days later with a fresh string of attacks. The next day was even worse, and after a week it had gotten so bad that wizarding families across Britain were permanently locking their doors and blocking up their fireplaces.

The Ministry of Magic was the worst hit. The number of Auror recruits plummeted to zero. Any of them who had not fled were quickly pressed into duty. The Death Eaters targeted them especially, and wizards soon grew to fear the Aurors as much as the Death Eaters, since the two were seldom far apart.

As the weeks wore on, the attacks grew less frequent, but more targeted. The Death Eaters were slowly searching out anyone friendly to the Order or Harry himself.

The Order itself had managed to remain safe for the most part, due in large part to the secrecy it maintained. Ron and Hermione were not permitted to leave Grimmauld Place, nor was Lupin or Molly Weasley. Outside Grimmauld Place, a number of other families were similarly hidden: The Longbottoms, the Changs, the Creevy's and a number of others who chose to stay rather than flee to France or Egypt.

Once the attacks started becoming less frequent, the Order had taken a more active approach to stopping them, aided by the witches and wizards around them. They started receiving anonymous owls revealing the locations of Death Eaters. Other times, they found the Death Eaters they had been chasing lying stunned or otherwise disabled without any explanation at all. It appeared that the wizarding world was starting to unite against Voldemort.

At the same time, there was a growing dread among those who openly helped the Ministry and the Order. Every killed or captured Death Eater held the threat of the terrible retribution they might receive from Voldemort at any time. Yet he had not shown himself. The Order toiled on, heedless of the threat. Whatever Voldemort might plan would not change their task.

The start of the next term approached, and rumors of the Order and their work started appearing in the newspapers, along with other, much less believable information. The _Quibbler_ started reporting a series of rumors which claimed that Harry Potter had not died at all, but was living in an abandoned shipyard in Liverpool, or that he'd taken up residence with a circle of old warlocks in Tibet where he was hiding from Lord Voldemort. They'd even distributed a shadowy picture of some dark haired person slipping into Knockturn Alley with a story about Harry joining Voldemort.

Despite the source of all the information, Ron had read each article several times and, though he thought it was a secret, Hermione knew that he was hiding copies of them all in his room under his Quidditch equipment.

When it came time to return to Hogwarts, Ron acted a little more eager than anyone really expected. They left earlier than they planned, though later than Ron had wanted, arriving at King's Cross via Portkey, with only Bill and Emiline Vance with them. As they walked toward the barrier, Hermione couldn't help but feel a little of Ron's hopefulness.

If Harry were alive, he would be there. If some miracle had allowed him to escape Voldemort, she knew Hogwarts would be the place he would find them. It had always been his home, long before he even knew it existed.

And if Harry was alive, he would have Ginny with him.

* * *

She frowned as he flattened his fringe for what seemed to be the hundredth time. It was a useless attempt. His hair simply refused to stay in place and cover the scar he hated now more than ever. The long journey, locked in a compartment and hidden away from the other students had worn away her patience. 

"Just give it up," she told him. "No one is even going to notice."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Is that supposed to be a joke? Where exactly have you been for the last six years?"

"Well, it's not your scar that will be drawing all the attention."

"Easy for you to say. No one can see yours."

She felt her jaw lock, as she stiffened in her seat. After a couple deep breaths, she forced herself to ignore the comment and turned to stare out the window as they passed Hagrid's hut. It was empty. All of Hogwarts looked empty. After months of constantly seeing Aurors strolling about, the grounds felt eerily deserted now.

"I'm sorry..." he apologized after the awkward silence. "I'm just a little tense, you know? It's been three months."

"I know," she said flatly as the main door to the castle slid into view. The carriage came to a stop and they both climbed out. Hand in hand, they walked quickly into the castle, completely ignoring Peeves and hoping avoid the students who were not far behind them.

The Great Hall was empty except for the Headmaster and some professors at the head table. They walked in together and silently surveyed the empty room.

"He's not here," she told him. Dumbledore was already walking toward them.

"He's got to be here."

"No. He doesn't. We knew when we came that—"

"There's no where else he would go!" he shouted at her. The first of the students at the door froze upon hearing him yelling. He pressed his hair down over his scar again.

"Good evening, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger," Dumbledore greeted them. "I trust the train ride went smoothly."

"Yes, it did," she answered quietly.

"Where is he?" Ron asked almost threateningly. "It's been three months. Why hasn't he shown up?"

"I have nothing more to explain to you now than I did then, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore replied wearily. "We must all move on, even if there is little hope left. If indeed there is no hope at all, then we would do well to follow the example set by Harry and Ginny. We will fight this, and if we are doomed to failure, then we will fail courageously."

Students were streaming into the Great Hall now, many of them listening to what Dumbledore was saying. "The two of you will have to take his spot. You won't be alone. The war has truly started now, and we will need every witch and wizard who can help us."

* * *

Torches blazed to life in Gryffindor Tower, signaling the arrival of the students. At the same time, a pair of cloaked and hooded wizards stepped out of the shadow of a large oak tree just outside the main gate to Hogwarts. 

"Is it time?"

"Not yet."

"We have been here for hours. How much longer will we have to wait?"

"Not long, I promise, but it will not be tonight. We will return, but not until it's over —not until everyone who supported him has fallen."

"Then why did we come here? We should go back to Knockturn Alley."

"They will still be there when we return. The Order will not attack anyone tonight, and I have some important business to attend to tonight."

"And what did you plan to do? Did we come for them? They came and passed in the very first carriage. You must have seen them. They were alone. If we were here for them, why not do it then?"

"The other students would have found out. It's not yet time to reveal ourselves."

As they were speaking, a small shape was speeding toward them. As it flew nearer, they both turned to look at it. The owl's wings fluttered a few times as it quickly slowed and dropped toward the oak tree.

The taller figure reached into his cloak and pulled out a piece of parchment. He quickly folded all four sides toward the center, forming a pouch of sorts. From another pocket, he drew a long chain with a small talisman hanging from it and carefully placed it into the pouch.

"I thought you said they would be safer if they thought we were gone."

"They would be safer," he agreed simply.

She stared at him and frowned. "And yet, here we are."

"Yes," he said with a nod. "Here we are."

She let out a frustrated sigh. "Very well," she said as she reached into her hood briefly and slowly extracted a long golden chain carrying a single large jewel which glowed and flickered like a small candle in the dark. She quickly handed it to him.

He took the necklace and gently placed it into the pouch as well, making it glow briefly. He folded over the last flap but couldn't find any way of keeping it shut. Giving up, he pulled out his wand.

"Hold on," she said as she grabbed his arm. "I won't be needing this." She was already reaching into one of her pockets, and when she withdrew her hand, it was holding a small metal pin. She stuck it through the parchment flaps, fastening them together and securing the pouch.

He took the pouch with a smile, and handed it to the owl. "You know who to take this to?" The owl hooted happily. "Alright then. Goodbye for now. I promise I will come back when it's done." With one last hoot, the snowy owl leapt into the air, and headed back to the castle.

"We're endangering them," she said.

"They've always been in danger."

"They will know we were here. What if they tell others?"

"I don't think they ever really believed we were gone. They will know now, and they will also understand."

* * *

Before the owl had even reached its destination, the hooded wizards were already gone, leaving no other evidence of their visit. It reached the window to the Gryffindor common room just as the first years were headed up to their dormitories. 

The gloomy moods of their oldest prefects had infected the room, and it was uncharacteristically quiet for the night after the Entrance Feast. They were sitting silently on the couch facing the fireplace and trying to find some reason to do anything other than sit and stare at the fire. They didn't even notice the tapping at the window.

"Oy, Ron!" one of the new fifth years shouted. "I... I think you've got an owl from Dumbledore."

Ron turned to give the boy a disgusted glare, but paused upon seeing Hedwig sitting on the ledge outside the window. With a quick look at Hermione, Ron walked over to the window. Dumbledore had been using Hedwig over the summer to send messages to and from Hogwarts, but Ron couldn't imagine what Dumbledore needed Hedwig to tell him now.

He let the owl into the room as Hermione walked over to his side. Hermione warned off a number of students who were crowding around them as Ron took the folded parchment from Hedwig. They both stopped upon seeing the golden prefect's pin holding it closed. Ron quickly pulled the pin free and opened the parchment.

Upon seeing the contents, they froze and stared at each other in shock and confusion. Slowly the empty stares gave way to small, restrained smiles. Ron pocketed the contents and crumpled the parchment and tossed it into the fire.

"What was that about?" Seamus asked.

"Just Head Boy and Girl business," Ron replied dismissively. Together, he and Hermione returned to the couch and stared into the fire. Their expressions were quite different now, but no one had the courage to ask them about it. The rest of the Gryffindors knew not to press either of them, and they all eventually left for their dormitories, leaving Ron and Hermione alone.

When the last student had left, Ron drew out the two chains. He handed one to Hermione, and slowly clasped one around his own neck and stared down at the simple snake talisman it held. With a smile Hermione took hers and did the same, letting the jewel flicker and glow in the firelight. Without a word, they both slipped the chains under their robes and shirts, hiding them from the rest of the world.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Thus have we reached the final end of our tale. I thank everyone for reading, and hope that any of you who were formerly upset with me, have changed their minds after reading this chapter. If you liked this chapter, and felt it was an excellent way to end the story, then you have 'rdprice52' to thank for that. She was sadly subjected to the original version, but eventually recovered after a few emails and helped me revise the ending to account for the fact that none of you are actually able to read my mind.

Feel free to review if you like. If you actually want any response from me, you'll probably want to go for emails instead. I'll keep an eye on the reviews, but I'll respond faster to emails.

I hope everyone enjoyed the journey. Sorry I could string it out a bit longer. You'll have to endure a whole week or so until Book 6 comes out and pushes all of this into Alternate Universe status.


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